Postgame Interview: Head Coach Larry Vickers | Kayla Roberts

NORFOLK, Va. – Faced with the individual excellence of Savannah State's Kaylee Allen, Norfolk State women's basketball leaned on its full bevy of talent to down the Lady Tigers 83-51 at Echols Hall on Saturday afternoon.
 
Allen scored a game-high 32 points in just 25 minutes of action before missing the majority of the second half with an injury. Conversely, nine Spartans scored five or more points and four had 10 or more, led by Gabrielle Swinson's 15. Norfolk State's bench out-produced SSU's 35-7 for the game.
 
With the victory, Norfolk State improved to 15-9 overall and 8-4 in the MEAC. The Spartans matched last season's win total in the process and become just the fifth team to reach the 15-win plateau in the program's Division-I history, which began in 1997-98.
 
Of those five teams, the 2017-18 Spartans are the third-quickest to reach 15 wins, doing so in 24 games. Both the 1999-00 and the 2001-02 teams reached 15 victories in 21 games.
 
NSU led 39-36 at the break as Allen poured in 30 first-half points to keep Savannah State (4-20, 1-11) afloat. The Spartans shot 53.8 percent in the first half while holding the Lady Tigers to 39.4 percent. However, SSU went 7-of-16 from 3-point range in the half while also grabbing eight offensive rebounds.
 
The Spartans scored the first five points of the game and led 7-5 with 6:13 in the period. Allen hit from deep with 5:40 on the clock to put the Lady Tigers up 8-7. That trey started a run for Allen, who scored 13-straight points for SSU as the lead swung back and forth.
 
Swinson answered Allen from deep less than a minute later to put NSU ahead 10-8. The Spartans led 11-10 with 2:37 remaining in the period, but Allen scored in the paint at the 2:28 mark to give Savannah State the lead again.
 
Following the layup, the two teams traded 3-pointers on four-straight possessions in a wild stretch of action that saw the lead change hands four times.
 
Kendrea Dawkins made her first trey of the game with 2:03 left on the clock only to have Allen answer on the ensuing possession. On the next trip down the floor, Yazmen Hannah found the bottom of the net from 3-point range, but once again Allen hit from deep to put SSU ahead 18-17 with 1:19 left in the period.
 
Swinson split two free throws with 56 seconds left, and Kayla Vance laid the ball in 25 seconds later to give the Lady Tigers a 20-19 edge heading to the second quarter.
 
Norfolk State scored eight of the first 10 points of the second quarter to gain some breathing room and led 27-22 with 6:26 left in the period. Allen stopped a 6-0 NSU run with a free throw, but Kayla Roberts hit from deep with 5:37 to put the Spartans on top 30-23.
 
Back-to-back field goals by Dawkins and Roberts gave Norfolk State a nine-point lead, its largest of the first half, at 34-25 with 3:54 to go in the quarter.
 
A 3-pointer by Allen cut the lead to six, 36-30, with 2:48 to play, but Dawkins' second trey of the half restored the nine-point lead. Norfolk State did not score again in the quarter, and Allen closed the half with consecutive 3-pointers to cut NSU's halftime lead to 39-36.
 
Norfolk State made 75 percent of its shots in the second quarter. The Lady Tigers shot 31.3-percent from the floor in the period.
 
Dawkins scored all nine of her points in the first half on 3-of-4 shooting, with a season-high two 3-pointers, and was one of three Spartans with nine points at the intermission.
 
As was the case in the first meeting between the two teams, Norfolk State's defense clamped down in the second half, holding Savannah State to 15 points in the second on 16.7 percent from the field and 17 turnovers. The Lady Tigers made just one of their six attempts from deep after halftime.
 
Norfolk State rebuilt its nine-point lead on the strength of an 8-0 run. After Nadia Farmer hit a free throw, Alexys Long hit a jumper to push the Spartans ahead 49-39 with 4:57 to play.
 
Two-plus minutes later, Zairya West hit on a 3-pointer as NSU went on top by 14, 54-40, with 2:31 left in the period. Raven Russell punctuated the quarter with a layup to give the Spartans a 58-42 lead inside the final minute of action.
 
The Lady Tigers scored only eight points in the third on 1-of-9 shooting and did not hit a 3-pointer. SSU also turned the ball over 10 times in the period.
 
Norfolk State put the game to rest with an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter. Roberts ignited the run with a jumper at the 9:13 mark and scored the first four points of the spurt. The senior guard/forward ended the game with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Armani Franklin gave NSU an 80-49 lead with 2:23 to play, then Jazmine Bartlett broke a five minute, 30 second scoring drought for the Lady Tigers on a jump shot with 3:04 remaining. SSU scored once more in the game, on Alexxus Sowell's layup at the 1:25 mark.
 
Sowell scored five points for Savannah State and grabbed a game-high 13 boards while sharing the game high with four blocks. Khadedra Croker also turned away four shots while scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and securing six rebounds.
 
Norfolk State set a season high with 22 assists on 28 field goals. Swinson led all with seven assists and Russell added five. Seven Spartans assisted on baskets in the win, and six players had two or more.
 
The Lady Tigers committed 26 turnovers on Saturday, which led to 30 points for NSU. The 26 giveaways are the second-most by a Spartan opponent this season.
 
Norfolk State returns to action on Monday, when it hosts South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m.