NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State women's basketball puts its burgeoning two-game home win streak on the line when it hosts Campbell at 11 a.m. on Tuesday for Hampton Roads Youth Day.
 
For the second year in a row, the Spartans have invited middle school students to fill Joseph Echols Hall for a fun and unique morning of women's college basketball. Last year, a crowd of more than 1,500 filled Echols Hall to watch NSU take on Loyola (Md.).
 
The Opening Tip
Norfolk State (2-2) led by 18 with 8:51 to go in the game then withstood a furious comeback bid by Navy in Sunday's 65-58 win at Joseph Echols Hall. The Midshipmen (1-2) broke off a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter and out-scored the Spartans 17-6 to close out the game.
 
Navy cut the deficit all the way to three, 61-58, with 1:22 to play, but Dana Echols gave NSU some breathing room with a layup with just over one minute remaining. From there, the Spartans kept the Mids off the board, and Raven Russell iced the game away with a pair of foul shots.
 
The Spartans had an excellent showing from the floor on Sunday, making 56.3-percent of its shots for the game. NSU shot 68 percent across the second and third quarters to build a double-digit lead.
 
Norfolk State had the opportunity to put the game away early, but the Spartans made only two of their 10 3-pointers, shot 42.9 percent (9-21), from the charity stripe and committed a season-high 28 turnovers.
 
De'Janaire Deas provided a spark on offense throughout the game, scoring a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The Spartans looked to exploit their size mismatch for easy buckets to start the second half, and Deas scored eight unanswered points as part of a 12-1 third-quarter NSU run.
 
La'Deja James turned in a team-high 16 points and shared game highs with seven rebounds and four steals. Freshman Jennifer Coleman led all players with 22 points and netted nine-straight for the Mids to ignite their late comeback bid.
 
Sizing up Campbell
The Fighting Camels (2-1) are riding a two-game winning streak into Echols Hall after wins over Western Carolina (63-37) and College of Charleston (66-65). Against Western Carolina, Campbell limited the Catamounts to 28.6-percent shooting while connecting on 42.9 percent of its own attempts. CU made nine of its 20 attempts from deep, including three apiece from Lauren McNamara-Clement and Kyra Davis. The Camels rely heavily on the 3-pointer, ranking second in the Big South in treys per game (7.7) on 30.3 percent shooting.
 
Davis played the hero's role in Campbell's 66-65 win over CofC on Thursday. Her layup at the final buzzer propelled the Camels to victory and helped erase a 17-point first-half deficit. The sophomore forward came off the bench to tally game highs with 16 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting.
 
Despite not starting a game this season, Davis leads all CU players in scoring (11.7) and rebounds (6.7) and is shooting 48.0 percent from the field. The Forest City, N.C. native is fourth in the conference with 2.67 made treys per game, and her 57.1-percent mark from deep is 33rd in the country.
 
The Fighting Camels share one common opponent with Norfolk State. CU opened its season with an 83-59 home loss to Old Dominion. Campbell allowed 44.6-percent shooting in that contest but held ODU to 4-of-21 from beyond the arc. For the season, CU opponents are making 40.1 percent of the shots they take but are shooting only 25.0 percent from long range.
 
All-Time Series vs. Campbell
Norfolk State is 4-0 all-time against Campbell in a series that dates back to the 2000-01 season. In last season's meeting, the Spartans set their Division I era record for fewest points allowed in a game, holding the Camels to 27 points in the 53-27 win.
 
CU made just seven of its 48 shot attempts (14.6 percent) in the game and did not break the 20-point plateau until the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter. 
 
Kayla Roberts led all players with 18 points, made three treys in the win and was the lone player in double figures. Khadedra Croker rejected six shots against Campbell, one of her five games with six or more rejections last season.
 
NSU vs. the Big South
The Spartans are 64-79 all-time against teams currently in the Big South Conference. NSU is 38-58 all-time against former-MEAC rival Hampton but holds winning marks against Campbell (4-0), Gardner-Webb (3-0), Longwood (9-5) and USC Upstate (4-3).
 
Last season, NSU went 2-1 against the Big South, falling at home to High Point, 59-56, but collecting wins at Campbell (53-27) and Longwood (64-45). In his tenure, head coach Larry Vickers is 6-5 against current Big South teams, 4-1 excluding Hampton.
 
Two more bouts with Big South foes await the Spartans this season. NSU hosts Longwood on Dec. 12 then travels to High Point three days later.
 
What's Next?
The Spartans travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the two-day Christmas City Classic this Saturday and Sunday. NSU opens play with host Lehigh on Saturday at 2 p.m. then plays either Charlotte or Liberty the following day.