Howard Women (5-23, 3-12 MEAC) at NSU (2-22, 2-12)
Monday, Feb. 29 * 6 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. * Echols Hall
Game Notes | Live Video ($$) | Live Stats | Live Audio
NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartans enter the final week of the regular season looking to escape the bottom of the MEAC standings and improve their seeding for the conference tournament. NSU's season-ending three-game home stretch continues Monday against Howard at Echols Hall on Greek Night.
Media Coverage: The game will be broadcast on WNSB 91.1 FM, with Ross Gordon and Aaron Clark on the call. Links to live audio, live video and live stats are available at the top of this page.
Scouting NSU: The Spartans have had a week off from competition after dropping their third straight game last Monday, 56-47 at home against Coppin State. NSU was held to a season-low 24.3 percent shooting from the field (18-of-74), which included a 10.5 percent mark (2-of-19) from 3-point range. NSU also struggled at the free-throw line, making just 9-of-19 (47.4 percent). Despite that, the Spartans trailed by just five with 2:53 left, but were not able to score after
Alexys Long's 3-pointer with 2:53 on the clock.
Long and
Dominique Harper scored eight points apiece to lead NSU. NSU outrebounded the Lady Eagles 49-45, led by a career and game-high 13 rebounds from
Shayla Tanner.
Koryn Lawrence handed out a game-high five assists.
Scouting HU: Howard (5-23, 3-12 MEAC) dropped its fifth straight game Saturday in a 77-48 loss at Hampton on Saturday. The Bison shot just 29 percent from the floor, were outrebounded 49-34 and committed 21 turnovers. Howard also missed all eight of its 3-point attempts. Bison leading scorer Victoria Gonzales led the Bison with 11 points and seven rebounds, but she made just 3-of-15 from the floor.
Howard trailed 32-27 at the half, but got outscored 21-7 in the third period and 24-14 in the fourth.
Gonzales has missed six games this year for medical reasons. She is second in the MEAC in scoring, at 19.5 points per game. Imani Bailey averages 15.8 points per game, Te'Shya Heslip 13.8, Sydni Johnson 10.9 and Jasmine Hill 10.4 for Howard. The Bison allow a MEAC-high 76.2 points per game.
All-Time Series vs. HU: Howard leads the all-time series against NSU, 30-14. The Spartans have won five in a row, however, their longest win streak in series history. The Spartans won their first game of the season, 110-108 in double-overtime, at Howard on Feb. 6. The Spartans also won all three meetings last season, coupling double-digit wins at home (90-71) and in the MEAC tournament (67-55) with a tight win at Howard (63-60). Howard's last win over NSU was two years ago, a 77-63 decision at Echols Hall on Feb. 10, 2014.
Last Meeting: In a game filled with momentum swings in both directions, NSU outlasted Howard 110-108 in two overtimes on Feb. 6 at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C., the Spartans' first win of the year.
Kiara Phillips scored a career-high 21 points and
Yazmen Hannah had a career-high 20, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into OT. Here are some more notes from that matchup:
• The 110 points NSU scored at Howard are its most ever against a Division I team and second-most vs. any opponent in the Spartans' D-I history. NSU scored 116 in a win over Virginia-Lynchburg on Dec. 20, 2013.
• The 218 total points are the most scored in a MEAC women's game since at least 2002-03.
•
Kiara Phillips (21 points),
Yazmen Hannah (20 points) and
Siobhan Beslow (19 rebounds) all set career highs, while
Alexys Long (nine points) tied her career high.
• The Howard marked the first time since Feb. 23, 2015 that NSU had two players score 20 points or more in the same game.
Rae Corbo (28) and
Kayla Roberts (20) were the last ones to do it, in a win over Delaware State.
This and That: Some more recent notes and trends for the Spartans:
• NSU has outrebounded its opponents in two straight games, topping DSU 41-36 and Coppin State 49-45 on the glass. The last two NSU won the rebounding battle in two straight games was Jan. 16 and 18, at N.C. Central and N.C. A&T, respectively.
• For the first time since the Bethune-Cookman game on Jan. 11, no Spartan reached doubles figures in the loss to Coppin State.
Alexys Long and
Dominique Harper led NSU with eight points each.
•
Koryn Lawrence has at least one steal in 13 straight games, a streak that started with NSU's first game of 2016, at Coppin State. She tied her career high with five that night, then did it again against Savannah State. She is fifth in the league in steals (45, 2.0 per game).
