WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Norfolk State women's basketball nearly erased a 20-point deficit and had a chance to send the game to overtime or to win it outright with the final shot of the contest, but the Spartans (5-8) could not complete the comeback, falling 63-61 to Wake Forest at LJVM Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
 
NSU out-scored the Demon Deacons (9-4) 24-9 in the final period and ended the game on a 22-5 run. The Spartans held Wake Forest to 2-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter and forced nine turnovers, scoring 10 points off those giveaways.
 
Offensively, the Spartans took great care of the ball in the fourth, giving it away only three times, and feasted at the foul line, shooting 10-for-13 at the line in the period.
 
Elisa Penna scored four points inside the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, and WF led by 19, 58-39. After Penna's last foul shot dropped, Wake Forest went scoreless for over three minutes. During that time, the Deacs committed seven turnovers, and NSU went on an 8-0 run.
 
Ona Udoh halted the run with an offensive rebound and putback just inside the five-minute mark, but the Spartans netted the next nine points to cut the deficit to four, 60-56, with 2:37 left to play. La'Deja James scored five of NSU's nine points during the run, including her lone 3-pointer of the game.
 
Alex Sharp hit a 3-pointer with 95 seconds to go to push Wake Forest's advantage to seven points at 63-56, but Alexys Long answered with a 3-pointer of her own. On the ensuing defensive possession, Long grabbed the Deacs' miss, was fouled and calmly knocked down two free throws to make it a one-possession game.
 
Trailing 63-61, NSU forced a miss to get ball back with the shot clock off. After a timeout, Dana Echols drove right into the lane, but her potential game-tying layup would not go down.
 
James and Long paced the Spartans in the fourth quarter, combining for 17 points on 50-percent shooting and making nine of their 10 free throw attempts.
 
Norfolk State shot 57.1 percent in the first quarter and led 19-18 after a back-and-fourth first 10 minutes of action. Eight of the Spartans' first 14 shots found the bottom of the net, and NSU hit three of its four attempts from 3-point range to start the game.
 
A trey from Long at the 5:39 mark cut the deficit to two points. From there, both sides traded baskets into the final two minutes of the quarter. Kendrea Dawkins scored five unanswered in the span of 90 seconds to give the Spartans their first lead in five-and-a-half minutes. Her 3-pointer gave NSU a 17-16 lead with 1:21 left to play.
 
The Demon Deacons regained the lead with a three-point play by Kaylen Dickson with 31 seconds remaining, but Danyael Goodhope hit a jumper from the left baseline to send NSU into the second quarter on top by one.
 
Dawkins netted 10 of her career-best 16 points in the first quarter. The forward from Harvest, Alabama shared the team-high in scoring with Long and matched her career high with three 3-pointers.
 
Norfolk State's hot shooting did not continue into the second quarter as Wake Forest built a 30-25 halftime advantage. The Spartans made only two shots in the second quarter, scoring six points in the process.
 
James gave NSU a three-point advantage on a layup at the 5:56 mark of the period, but those would be the Spartans' final points of the half. Norfolk State missed its last five shot attempts, and the Demon Deacons ended the quarter on an 8-0 run.
 
Wake Forest came out on fire in the third quarter, making over half of its shots and building its largest lead of the contest. The Deacs shot 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from the floor in the quarter and made three of their six long-range attempts.
 
A Dawkins layup with 5:35 left in the quarter cut the deficit to five, but, as had been the case in the previous quarter, WF owned the final five minutes of the period.
 
The Demon Deacons out-scored the Spartans 18-6 to close out the frame and led by as many as 20 points inside the final minute. Dawkins connected from behind the arc to make the score 40-34, but Wake Forest countered with a 14-0 run and led 54-34 with 37 seconds left.
 
Zairya West blunted WFU's momentum with a trey in the dying seconds of the period. The sophomore guard matched her career high with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
 
Three Spartans finished the game in double figures. James joined Long and Dawkins with 15 points in her first outing following a five-game absence. James also set the game high with five steals.
 
Penna netted 19 points to lead all scorers but did so on 5-of-15 shooting. Sharp joined Penna in double figures with 12 and chipped in eight rebounds to share the game high.
 
Echols notched her second 10-assist game of the season with a game-high 10. As a team, the Spartans assisted on 15 of their 21 field goals.
 
Wake Forest held a 43-30 edge in the rebounding department and notched 17 offensive boards. The Deacs entered Sunday with the 23rd-best rebounding margin in the nation and have out-rebounded each of their first 13 opponents. Udoh grabbed five offensive rebounds and matched the game high with eight boards total.
 
The Spartans now prepare to start their grueling 16-game MEAC schedule. NSU opens conference action with home games against Delaware State on Saturday, Jan. 5 and Florida A&M on Monday, Jan. 7.