Norfolk State Women's Basketball
NORFOLK, Va.- The Norfolk State women's basketball team will travel to Maryland to take on Towson. This will be the final non-conference tune-up for the Spartans before they begin conference play on Jan. 4.
About NSU: The Norfolk State women's basketball team surrendered a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter and suffered a 59-52 defeat to UNC Greensboro at Fleming Gym on Dec. 21. The Spartans fell to 5-6 on the season, while the Spartans of UNCG improved to 7-6.
Kayla Roberts finished with 15 points and six rebounds to lead NSU. She also registered three blocks and three steals.
About Towson: The Tigers have won lost four of their last five games, including three in a row. The last time out Rider used a big first quarter en route to a 79-75 win over the Towson on Dec. 11. Despite falling behind 21-6 after the first quarter, Towson clawed its way back in the game, however its comeback fell just short.
The Tigers had four players score in double figures, including sophomore guard Sianni Martin's team-high 22 points.
All-Time Series vs. Towson: The two programs have matched up four times and Norfolk State has never recorded a victory against the Tigers.
Towson has outscored the Spartans 270-212 in the four meetings. The average margin of victory is 14.5 points per game, with the largest margin of victory coming in the last matchup. Norfolk State opened the 2007-08 season with a 76-55 defeat on Nov. 16, 2007 at Joseph Echols Hall.
Kandace Davis had team-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers, while Areya Walker led the Spartan effort with 19 points.
Roberts Earns MEAC Honor: Norfolk State junior forward
Kayla Roberts was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, for the week of Dec. 12-18. This is her second such honor of the season.
She recorded 21 rebounds, five steals and two block against William & Mary and Lincoln (Pa.). Offensively, she averaged 11.0 points and 2.5 assists. Fifteen of her 21 boards came on the defensive glass. Roberts moved into 17th all-time in school history with her two blocks against William & Mary. She tallied three steals against Lincoln as the Spartans defense allowed just 28 points, which is the fifth-fewest surrendered in school history and the fewest allowed in the Division I era.
Uncharted Waters: The Spartans have won four non-conference games and three of their last five. 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.
Roberts Leading the Way: Junior forward
Kayla Roberts has recorded five double-double performances.
• Her five double-doubles are good enough for second in the MEAC and are seventh-most in the country.
• She registered three in a row at against Lehigh, Hartford and Longwood in late November.
• Leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg), rebounding (9.5 rpg), blocks (1.3 bpg) and minutes-per-game (30.6).
• Third on the team with 2.2 assists per game.
Double-Digit Scoring: Senior guard
Jordan Strode has scored in double figures in seven of the 10 games she has played in, including a career-high 23 points against Longwood.
• Leads team in free-throws (36) and free-throw attempts (49).
• She is second on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), assists (2.8 apg), 3-point field goals (11), and 3-point field-goal attempts (43).
• Her 5.3 rebounds per game ranks third on the team.
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. Here are some notes on her 2016-17 season to date:
• Averaging 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game.
• She leads the team in field goal percentage at 47.3 percent.
• Her 1.5 steals per game ranks second on the team.
• Harper ranks third on the team and 21st in the MEAC in points per game, while playing the third most minutes per game and having the third most assists at 2.1 per game.
• She is fourth on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game.
