Norfolk State Women's Basketball
ORANGEBURG, S.C. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team (11-9, 6-2) will look to carry over its hot play from January when it embarks on a two-game road trip. The first stop will be in Orangeburg, S.C., when the Spartans will face the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State at SHM Memorial Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. The two teams will face each other twice in 12 days.
About NSU: The Spartans went 6-2 during January and have matched their best start in 20 MEAC seasons through eight games, which came during the 1999-2000 campaign.
After losing back-to-back home conference games, the Spartans defeated the defending MEAC champion North Carolina A&T State Aggies 69-53 on Monday night at Echols Hall.
Kayla Roberts and
Jordan Strode recorded 21 points each.
Roberts finished two blocks short of a triple-double, with 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks. Her eight blocks is the second-most by a Norfolk State player this season and third-most in school history. Strode recorded her second 21-point game in the last three games, while handing out three assists.
The Spartans outscored the Lady Aggies 16-10 in each of the first two periods, taking a 32-20 lead to the locker room at the intermission. The Spartans shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the floor, including 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from 3-point distance during the game, while their defense limited North Carolina A&T to 32.3 percent (21-of-65), including just 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from deep.
About South Carolina State: South Carolina State has won just two times in the last 10 games, with both wins coming in the Lady Bulldogs last four times out.
Last time out, Bryeasha Blair scored a team-high 14 points, while sophomore forward JaQuanna Murray posted a career-high seven blocks, but it wasn't enough as Howard cruised to a 75-57 victory over South Carolina State Monday at Howard.
Junior's guard Brittany Drumgoole added seven points and forward Jahmia Bradley chipped in a team-high seven rebounds and six points. Murray finished with six points and five rebounds in the loss.
Howard led 37-25 during the half, but the Lady Bulldogs rallied back in the second-half to pull within one, 46-45, off a three-pointer by Blair with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter. Costly turnovers (22) were a factor down the stretch as the Bison sparked a 24-10 run, taking a commanding 15-point advantage, 70-55, with 2:33 remaining in regulation.
Blair and Drumgoole are the only two Lady Bulldogs to average more than 10 points per game. Blair leads the team with 17.3 points per game, while Drumgoole registers 10.9 points per game.
Bradley grabs 6.8 rebounds per game, while Murray averages 6.0 boards per game.
All-Time Series vs. South Carolina State: The two schools have met 36 times on the hardwood, with each team coming out victorious 18 times. Norfolk State won eight of the first 10 meetings in the series, while South Carolina State has won seven of the last 10 matchups, including the last two.
Last Meeting vs. South Carolina State: Last season, South Carolina State used a 20-point second-quarter advantage to build a double-digit lead, then had to fend off a spirited late Norfolk State rally to hold off the Spartans, 60-52 on Jan. 23, 2016 at Echols Hall.
The Spartans, playing in their first game under interim head coach
Larry Vickers, played well early. NSU shot 50 percent and committed just two turnovers in the first quarter.
Dominique Harper scored a pair of baskets late in the period to give the Spartans a 15-12 edge after 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter, though, was a different story, as South Carolina State scored the first 17 points of the quarter, as five different Lady Bulldogs scored in the first 4:07 of the stanza. The run was capped by a Brittany Drumgoole 3-pointer that pushed South Carolina State's lead to 29-15 with 5:53 left before halftime.
Kayla Roberts led the Spartans with 16 points and three blocks, while
Siobhan Beslow registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Harper also finished in double-figures 10 points.
Amber Howard and Toni Grier led South Carolina State with 14 points and 13 points, respectively.
Moving up the Record Books: Kayla Roberts and
Kiara Phillips are moving up the record charts. Listed below are some of their records heading into the South Carolina State game:
Roberts:
• She is 102 points from becoming the 22nd player to join the 1,000 point career club.
• Her 11.7 points per game average is 18th in school history.
• Roberts ranks 7th all-time in blocks (93), 10th in rebounds per game (8.9), 11th in 3-point attempts (210), 12th in rebounds (688) and 15th all-time in made 3-pointers (50).
Phillips:
• She is 14th all-time in 3-point field-goal attempts (181) and she is 14th in 3-pointers made (51), while ranking 15th all-time in 3-point field-goal percenatage (28.2 percent).
Road Warriors: Norfolk State is 6-5 on the road, including 3-0 in MEAC play. The Spartans are just 5-3 at home, including 3-2 in conference play. They are finding success on the road, despite shooting a lower percentage from the field, averaging less points per game, while allowing more points per game and a higher shooting percentage from its opponents.
Tale of Two Halves: Norfolk State's offense warms up as the game goes along, but so does its opponents. The Spartans are averaging 29.8 points, while shooting 37.9 percent from the field in the first half of games this season. However, in the second half, they are averaging 32.7 points and shooting 39.7 percent from the field. Defensively, Norfolk State allows 24.2 points in the first half, while it gives up 32.6 points per game. Opponents shooting percentage increases from 29.3 percent from the field in the first half to 36.5 percent in the second half.
Crime Pays: Norfolk State has increased its steals per game over the last five games. The Spartans have swiped 43 steals over the last five games, which is the second-most in a five game stretch this season. They swiped 48 in the first five games of the season, before registering 37 during the second five games of the season and 38 during games 11-15.
Jordan Strode and
Kiara Phillips has led the charge over the last five games with nine steals each.
Dominique Harper is third on the team with eight steals over the last five games and five other players have recorded two steals or more.
Changing the Culture: Larry Vickers was named the interim head coach of the Norfolk State women's basketball team on Jan. 20, 2016, with the tag being lifted on Mar. 8, 2016, making him the six head coach in the program's history. His coaching career got off to a rocky start, winning just three of his first 11 games (27.3 percent). However, he has changed the culture of the program in just one calendar year. His career record is now 14-17 (45.2 percent) overall and 9-9 (50 percent) in the MEAC.
