BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One more game in the Christmas City Classic awaits Norfolk State women's basketball as the Spartans (2-4) face Liberty today at 2 p.m.
 
Both teams are looking to salvage one win from their trips to the Keystone State after falling in their first games yesterday.
 
The Opening Tip
Norfolk State trailed by 22 points at the half in its 62-41 loss to Lehigh on the first day of the Christmas City Classic. NSU shot just 23.1 percent in the first half, allowing the Mountain Hawks to pull away early.
 
For the second time in as many games, the Spartans failed to break 20 points in the first half. NSU missed its first six shots while LU jumped ahead to a 7-0 lead. Megan Walker put the Mountain Hawks ahead 12, 18-6, on a 3-pointer at the 2:55 mark of the first quarter, and the Lehigh lead never again dipped below 10 points.
 
Lehigh made 57.1 percent of its shots in the first half, including a 5-of-9 showing from behind the arc. For the game, the Mountain Hawks made eight treys on 30.8-percent shooting. NSU turned in its second-straight game of shooting below 20 percent from the 3-point arc, making only two of its 12 attempts (16.7 percent). Against Campbell on Tuesday, the Spartans shot 14.3 percent from deep.
 
Norfolk State cut seven points off the deficit in the third quarter and entered the fourth down 15, 47-32. A three-point play by La'Deja James at the 7:59 mark of the period drew the Spartans to within 12 points, but Lehigh scored eight of the next 10 points, highlighted by two treys from Hailey Pascoe, to secure the victory.
 
James left her imprint on the box score with team highs in points (12) and rebounds (eight). The Virginia Beach native also shared the team high with three steals.
 
Camryn Buhr notched game highs in points (15), rebounds (11), assists (three) and steals (four) on 4-of-7 shooting.
 
The Spartans out-rebounded the Mountain Hawks 38-32. NSU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the loss but converted those boards into only seven second-chance points.
 
Sizing up Liberty
The Flames (1-4) dropped a closely-contested, back-and-fourth affair with Charlotte on Saturday by the score of 63-61. The game featured eight lead changes, and neither team led by more than five points.
 
Emily Lytle gave Liberty its last lead of the game on a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining on the clock. The redshirt sophomore forward netted a game-high 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting and knocked down four 3-pointers. Through five games, Lytle has been the Flames' go-to scorer, averaging 17.4 points per game on 45.5-percent shooting and making half of her attempts from deep (16-for-32).
 
Outside of Lytle, no other Liberty player is averaging more than nine points, but the Flames have six players averaging between five and nine points. Bridgette Rettstatt is LU's leading rebounder at 7.8 per game.
 
The early-season struggles are rare for LU under head coach Carey Green. Liberty has turned in just one losing season in Green's first 19 seasons on the bench, going 13-17 in 2016-17. Last year, LU posted a 24-10 record, including a 16-2 mark in Big South games, capturing the regular-season and tournament titles before bowing out in its first game in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Liberty is 0-1 against common opponents in 2018-19, losing 81-76 in overtime at Bethune-Cookman in its season opener. Lytle scored 24 points in the loss, but four Wildcats broke double figures, led by Angel Golden's 20.
 
All-Time Series vs. Liberty
NSU is still searching for its first win against Liberty and is 0-7 against the Flames in the series that goes back to Dec. 2, 2000. The series has not been particularly competitive as the last five games have been decided by at least 22 points. The last meeting featured a 38-point victory by the Flames, the biggest margin of victory in the series.
 
Liberty out-shot the Spartans 45.6 to 25.4 percent en route to the 91-53 victory in Lynchburg on Nov. 11, 2006. Five Flames broke double figures in the game, led by Megan Frazee's 19-point, 13-rebound double-double.
 
Tiffany Jenkins and Toia Johnson combined for 25 points for the Spartans. Jenkins accounted for four of NSU's eight 3-pointers, while Johnson led the team in rebounds (six), assists (four) and steals (two).
 
NSU vs. the ASUN
The Spartans are 3-10 all-time against teams currently in the ASUN. NSU holds a pair of victories against Jacksonville and is 1-0 against Kennesaw State.
 
The Spartans have not faced an ASUN team since the 2008-09 season, when NSU lost to Stetson, 84-70, in its second game of the season. That loss was the sixth-in-a-row for the Spartans, who would go on to lose 26-consecutive contests across two seasons.
 
Today's game will mark the first against an ASUN opponent in head coach Larry Vickers' tenure.
 
What's Next
The Spartans received a two-week break before returning to the road to face La Salle on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. That game is the first of six in the month of December for NSU.