Norfolk State Women's Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will look to bounce back from a loss at Florida A&M when it concludes its road trip across the Sunshine State. The Spartans will try to solidify their place near the top of the conference standings when they face Bethune-Cookman on Monday at Moore Gym. Game time is at 5:30 p.m.
Scouting NSU: The Spartans struggled in a 59-51 loss at Florida A&M on Saturday afternoon. Despite the loss, Norfolk State remained in second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings, a half game ahead of Hampton. The Spartans have already secured their fourth winning season in conference play since moving to Division I with the victory.
Alexys Long led the Spartans in scoring with a career-high 15 points.
Dominique Harper added 11 points and a game-high three assists. Norfolk State shot a season-low 24.7 percent from the floor.
Norfolk State ranks second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring offense at 63.1 points per game, while the Spartans allow the second-fewest points per contest at 56.7 points. They have the highest shooting percentage at 33.8 percent, and tied with Bethune-Cookman for the best field-goal defense in the conference at 32.6 percent.
Norfolk State grabs 42.9 rebounds per game, which is the second-most in the MEAC, while blocking the most shots at 6.5 per contest. The Spartans hand out the most assists per game at 14.4 and have the third-fewest turnovers per game at 16.3.
Scouting Bethune-Cookman: The Lady Wildcats are 11-1 in MEAC play, including 9-1 in their last 10 games and six straight victories and sit comfortably in first place in the conference standings.
Last time out, Bethune-Cookman defeated Hampton 66-56 on Saturday at the Moore Gym in Daytona Beach.
Kendra Cooper led the Lady Wildacats with 13 points, while Ashanti Hunt netted 12 points and Taylor Houston tallied 11 points.
Kailyn Williams leads Bethune-Cookman in scoring at 10.4 points a game, while Cooper averages 9.8 and Hunt adds 9.5 per game.
The Lady Wildcats ranks third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring offense at 61.5 points per game, while allowing the fewest points allowed per contest at 55.8. Bethune-Cookman ranks fifth in the MEAC in rebounding at 40.7 a game. Williams leads the team with 7.6 boards per game and leads the conference with four blocks per game.
All-Time Series vs. Bethune-Cookman: The two programs have met 30 times on the hardwood, with each team winning 15 times. Norfolk State will try and avoid being swept this season and losing its third straight contest to Bethune-Cookman. The Lady Wildcats won the only meeting last season.
Last Meeting vs. Bethune-Cookman: Norfolk State could not overcome a slow start, falling to Bethune-Cookman, 68-58, on Jan. 28, 2017 at Echols Hall.
Ashanti Hunt led Bethune-Cookman with 21 points and nine boards. She was 6-of-6 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Kailyn Williams scored 13 points, Kendra Cooper 11 and Taylor Houston 10.
Gabrielle Swinson, who had not played since Dec. 3, led the Spartans with 13 points, a career-high seven assists and three steals.
The Wildcats opened the game with a 10-4 run in the first three minutes and 38 seconds of the contest and led 16-9 at the end of the opening quarter. Bethune-Cookman took a 6-4 lead at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter and never trailed again.
