NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball team has its sights set on the program's first 2-0 start in six seasons when it travels to Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Maryland to take on Navy this Friday at 7 p.m.
 
The 2011-12 Spartans were the last team to start the year 2-0. They defeated Texas Southern 80-58 in their season opener before downing Chowan 60-43.
 
Media Coverage
An audio-only broadcast of Friday's game featuring Ross Gordon and Matt Michalec is available for free.

Live video will be available via the Patriot League Network. Fans can also follow the action through a live stats feed.
 
Series History
Friday marks the first-ever meeting between Norfolk State and Navy.
 
The Opening Tip
NSU (1-0) shot its way past VCU 66-52 last Sunday in Richmond, Va. The Spartans knocked down 11 3-pointers in that game and shot 42.3 percent from deep. Alexys Long led the barrage from behind the arc en route to setting career highs in 3-point field goals made (5), 3-point field goals attempted (7) and points scored (17). Long became the first Norfolk State player to make five 3-pointers in a game since Rae Corbo did so against Marshall on Dec. 16, 2014.  In all, five Spartans made at least one trey. Kayla Roberts and Raven Russell both made two 3-pointers in the win.
 
The Spartans built a 17-point halftime lead on the strength of three scoring runs. Norfolk State scored the first eight points of the game before VCU responded with a 12-0 run of their own. The Spartans eventually countered with a quarter-ending 8-0 spurt, and closed out the first half on another run, scoring 12 of the final 13 points in the half.
 
NSU led by 22 points with just 3:48 remaining in the game but would be held without a field goal for the remainder of the contest. VCU scored 10 of the game's final 12 points to produce the 66-52 outcome.
 
Newcomers Shine in Season Opener
Several Spartans made quite the first impression in their season debuts against VCU:

Khadedra Croker blocked seven shots in her debut game, accounting for half of the Spartans' rejections. Croker also grabbed five rebounds and went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
 
Kendrea Dawkins did not score against VCU but recorded four blocks and four rebounds.
 
Armani Franklin led all bench players with 10 points, notched a game-high seven assists and shared the game high in steals (4) with fellow Spartan newcomer Raven Russell. Six of Franklin's points came via "defensive touchdowns," where she scored immediately following her own steal.
 
Russell played a team-high 33 minutes on Sunday and scored 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting. The Shelton State CC transfer made two of her five attempts from deep and recorded four steals.
 
Scouting Navy
The Midshipmen return three starters and six letter winners from last year's team that won a program-record 24 games and reached the second-round of the WNIT. Navy did lose its leading scorer and rebounder from a year ago but returns Taylor Dunham (10.1 ppg, 112 assists last season) as well as leading shot blocker Kaila Clark.
 
The Mids are 2-0 this season and have out-scored opponents by 13 points per game. Defensively, Navy is allowing just 57 points per contest on 35 percent shooting. They guard the three-point arc well, holding opponents to 26.3 percent shooting from deep.
 
Clark leads Navy with 11 rebounds per game and is 29th nationally with nine defensive boards per contest. Freshman guard Sophie Gatzounas is averaging 11 points and six rebounds per game this season on 66.7 percent (10-of-15) shooting.
 
Coaches and sports information directors of the Patriot League tabbed the Midshipmen to finish fourth in the conference.
 
NSU vs. the Patriot League
Norfolk State is 4-3 all-time against teams currently in the Patriot League. The Spartans have wins against American (3) and Lehigh (1). NSU is also 0-1 against Colgate, Holy Cross and Loyola (Md.). Head coach Larry Vickers is 1-0 against the Patriot League, having defeated Lehigh 81-57 on the first day of the Christmas City Classic on Nov. 26, 2016. The Spartans play fellow Patriot League member Loyola (Md.) in their home opener on Tuesday.
 
Smothering Spartans
Norfolk State limited VCU to 52 points on 29.4 percent shooting in last Sunday's opener. Since Vickers took over as head coach, the Spartans are 13-7 when holding opponents below 60 points.
 
NSU blocked 14 of the Rams' shot attempts, which is the third-most in program history. Croker's seven rejects are tied for the fifth-most by a Spartan in a single game.
 
Last season, Norfolk State set the program's Division-I record for total blocks (178).