Norfolk State Women's Basketball

Lincoln at Norfolk State	Sunday, Dec. 18	4 p.m.	Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: Hot 91.1 FM	Live Stats	Live Video	Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - Setting the Scene: The Norfolk State women's basketball team will look to get back to its winning ways, when it host Lincoln on Sunday at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans are coming off a 65-52 loss to William and Mary on Thursday night.
 
About NSU: Kayla Roberts recorded her fifth double-double of the season, but it was not enough to propel the Norfolk State women's basketball team (4-5) to a third consecutive victory. William and Mary (7-1) defeated the Spartans 65-52 Thursday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
    
Roberts tallied 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. She grabbed 11 rebounds, while adding two assists, two blocks and two steals.

About Lincoln: Lincoln was outscored 25-13 by Winston Salem State in the fourth quarter en route to a 69-52 victory Thursday night at Lincoln. The Lady Lions first road game of the season, when they travel to Norfolk State.
  
 Lincoln fell to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games.

She'quan Bailey led Lincoln with 14 points going 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Teira Pendleton added 10 points, while Diamond Mickle grabbed five rebounds to lead the team.

All-Time Series vs. Lincoln: This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Strode  and  Roberts  Earn  MEAC  Weekly  Honors: Senior  guard  Jordan  Strode  was  named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Week, while junior forward Kayla Roberts earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor, for the week of Nov. 28 - Dec. 4.
    
The duo led the Spartans to two road victories during the week, with a 63-60 victory over High Point on Nov. 30, 2016 and an 85-56 win at Longwood on Dec. 3, 2016.
    
Strode averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists against High Point and Longwood.  She  tallied a career-high 23 points, including 12-of-12 from the  free-throw line, with four rebounds, four assists and one steal at Longwood.         

Roberts averaged 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in the road wins. She recorded 16 points, 17 boards, three blocks and one steal at High Point.    

Uncharted  Waters: The  Spartans  have  won  four  non-conference  games  and  three  of  their last four. The program has not experienced the early season success since the 2011-12 season. That season Norfolk State won four of its first five game to open the season and tallied five non-conference wins. The last time a Spartans team won more than three non-conference games away from Joseph Echols Hall was during the 2010-11 season.

Offense Gaining Ground: Norfolk State's defense has been the calling card in the early part  of  the  season.  However, over the last five games the Spartans are  averaging 66.4 points a game. In their four wins this they have averaged 82 points, but just 49.0 points per game in their five losses.

Roberts Leading the Way: Junior forward Kayla Roberts has recorded five double-double performances, including four in her last five games. Her five double-doubles is good enough to be tied for first in the MEAC and fifth-most in the country. She leads the Spartans in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (9.8 rpg) and blocks (1.2 bpg).

Double-Digit Scoring: Senior guard Jordan Strode has scored in double figures in six of the eight games she has played in. Currently, she is second on the team in scoing at 13.6 points per game, 3-point field-goals made (11) and 3-point field-goals attempted (35). She leads the team with 32 made free throws made and 44 free throws attempts.

Super Sub: Senior guard Dominique Harper has been the best and most consistent player  coming off the bench for the Spartans this season. Prior to this season she had appeared in 73 games for the green and gold and averaged 3.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. However, in nine games this season she is averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game. She is third on the team in steals, with 11, third on the team in points per game, fourth in assists at 2.0 per game, fourth in minutes played per game and fifth in rebounds.