NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State women's basketball exits the Thanksgiving holiday with a pair of games in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as part of the Christmas City Classic, hosted by Lehigh. The Spartans (2-3) draw Lehigh (4-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. before facing either Liberty or Charlotte the following day.
 
The Opening Tip
Norfolk State was out-scored 18-6 in the fourth quarter on Tuesday as Campbell broke a 41-41 tie to win 57-49. The Fighting Camels made six of their 10 shot attempts in the final period and shot 65.2 percent from the floor in the second half.
 
The Spartans could not keep up with the hot-shooting Camels, posting a 23.1 shooting percentage in the fourth period and missing six of their seven shots from deep.
 
A low-scoring first half saw NSU take a 19-18 lead into the break. The two sides shot a combined 5-for-27 (18.5) percent in the second quarter, and neither team recorded a point until the 4:32 mark of the period.
 
Both offenses woke up in the third period, scoring a combined 45 points on 16-of-24 shooting. A quick start gave Campbell a 30-27 lead with 7:08 to play in the third, but NSU worked itself back in the game, eventually taking a 39-35 lead at the 2:39 mark.
 
CU opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run and never surrendered the lead. Dana Echols cut the deficit to three points on a trey with 5:16 to play, but the Camels quickly pushed the lead to seven at 53-46 and held the Spartans at bay for the rest of the game.
 
Raven Russell led all scorers with 14 points. The senior grabbed a team-leading six rebounds, dished out two assists and made all six of her attempts at the foul line.
 
NSU turned the ball over a season-low 14 times in the loss and converted 17 Campbell giveaways into 23 points.
 
Sizing up Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks continued the hot start to their season with a 65-55 road win over Binghamton on Wednesday. The victory improved Lehigh to 4-1 on the season after LU started the year 3-0, a feat it had not accomplished since the 2015-16 campaign. Each of the Mountain Hawks' first four wins of the season have been by at least 10 points.
 
The Lehigh defense limited Binghamton to 37.5 percent shooting in the win and turned the Bearcats over 16 times. Through five games, the Mountain Hawks boast the 60th-best scoring defense in the country (54.8) and are third in the Patriot League in defensive field goal percentage (35.4).
 
LU out-rebounded Binghamton 35-30 and are 4-0 this season when winning the battle of the boards. Lehigh's 42.2 rebounds per game ranks second in the conference and its plus-7.6 rebounding margin is 72nd-best in the country. Emma Grothaus leads the Mountain Hawks with 7.0 rebounds per game and ranks ninth in the Patriot League.
 
Head coach Sue Troyan's squad is formidable from outside as well, ranking first in the Patriot League in both makes and attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. The Mountain Hawks make 7.4 treys per game on 34.6-percent shooting and hold their opponents to 28.0 percent from deep.
 
All-Time Series vs. Lehigh
Saturday marks just the second meeting all-time between the two teams. The first meeting also happened in Stabler Arena, an 81-57 NSU win on Nov. 26, 2016.
 
The Spartans shot 53.3 percent from the field in the win while holding the Mountain Hawks to 30.6 percent. Four NSU players broke double figures, led by Kayla Roberts' 23-point, 14-rebound outing. The Miami native missed just four shots on the day, going 11-for-15, and assisted on three of her teammates' makes. 
 
Alexys Long is the lone current Spartan to make an appearance in the game and turned in two
points, one rebound and an assist. Eight active Mountain Hawks also played in the 2016 contest, including starters Gena Gundhoffer, Cameryn Buhr and Hannah Hedstrom.
 
NSU vs. the Patriot League
The Spartans are 5-5 all-time against opponents currently in the Patriot League. NSU is 3-0 all-time against American and also has wins over Lehigh and Navy. Head Coach Larry Vickers is 2-1 against the Patriot League.
 
On Sunday, the Spartans defeated Navy 65-58 at Echols Hall in the only other game against a Patriot League opponent this season.
 
What's Next?
NSU plays either Liberty or Charlotte in the second game of the Christmas City Classic on Sunday.