NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State women's basketball welcomes Hampton to Echols Hall on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for high-stakes season finale. Along with the typical bragging rights involved in this rivalry, the winner of Thursday's contest receives the third and final bye and automatic entry to the quarterfinals in next week's MEAC Tournament. The loser drops to fourth in the standings and must win four games, starting with a first-round matchup on Monday, to claim the conference tournament title.
 
Before the game, Kayla Roberts, Jordan Strode, Gabrielle Swinson and Shayla Tanner will be recognized for their accomplishments and dedication to the program during senior night festivities.
 
Media Coverage
Thursday's game can be heard live featuring play-by-play commentary by Ross Gordon on Hot 91.1 FM and online at http://hot91.nsu.edu:8000/128. A live stream is available through Spartan Showcase Video Streaming. In addition, live stats are available.
 
Series History
Thursday marks the 96th all-time meeting between the two rivals. Since joining the MEAC for the 1997-98 season, the Spartans are 7-39 against Hampton.
 
Norfolk State notched its first road victory in the D-I era earlier this season, defeating the Lady Pirates 63-48 on Feb. 10. The road win was the first for the Spartans since Jan. 31, 1995 and snapped a 20-game road losing streak to Hampton.
 
The Spartans are going for their first regular-season sweep of HU since the 1994-95 season. NSU was 3-0 against the Lady Pirates that season, including an 89-51 win the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament.
 
Norfolk State has not won back-to-back games over HU since the 2001-02 season, when the Spartans won at home during the regular season and bested the Lady Pirates, 61-52, in the MEAC Tournament Championship.
 
Alexys Long netted a game-high 19 points in February's win on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long range. The Spartans out-shot Hampton 44.4 to 35.3 percent in the game and out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 46-24. These were crucial to the victory, as NSU committed a season-high 30 turnovers in the game.
 
The Opening Tip
Norfolk State (18-9, 11-4) kept its search for the No. 3 seed in the MEAC Tournament alive with a 59-53 come-from-behind overtime victory at Howard on Monday.
 
Norfolk State trailed the Bison by 10 in the third quarter before storming back to force overtime. The Spartans led throughout the extra period, out-scoring Howard 9-3 in overtime.
 
Neither team found success shooting the ball with NSU making just 23.6-percent of its shots, including a 1-of-21 (4.8 percent) performance from 3-point range. The Spartans overcame their shortcomings with strong showings on the offensive glass and at the foul line.
 
NSU grabbed a season-best 24 offensive rebounds in the contest as part of a 64-rebound evening. The 64 rebounds are the fourth-most in program history and are two off the record for the Division-I era. Long led the charge on the offensive glass, coming down with seven offensive boards as part of a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double -- the first of her career. Roberts and Swinson also registered double-doubles for the Spartans.
 
Norfolk State set season highs in free throws attempted (39) and made (24). In total, six Spartans made trips to the charity stripe, and Raven Russell led all players with six makes.
 
NSU trailed 38-28 with 5:51 left in the third but knotted the score on a 9-0 run to close out the period. The Spartans snared eight offensive boards during the run, including three on one possession, which ended with a Khadedra Croker layup to cut the deficit to three.
 
Howard scored the final four points in the fourth to send the game to overtime. Ayonna Williams tied the game with 0.6 seconds left. After calling timeout, the Spartans found Roberts near the rim on a lob, but the walk-off basket did not go down.
 
Scouting Hampton
The Lady Pirates (15-13, 11-4) authored a second-half double-digit victory of their own on Saturday, defeating Morgan State, 63-60, in HU's final MEAC home game. The Lady Bears led by 14, 48-34, with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. Hampton responded with a 20-2 run and was on top, 54-50, with 4:06 left in the game.
 
Lexus Spears tied the game on a layup with 34 seconds remaining, but Monnazjea Finney-Smith's bank-shot trey gave the Lady Pirates a 61-58 advantage with six seconds left. MSU scored on the next possession, but K'lynn Willis iced the game with two free throws.
 
The Lady Bears out-shot Hampton at all three levels, but the Lady Pirates forced 26 turnovers on 16 steals. For the season, HU leads the MEAC in both steals (13.1) and turnover margin (plus-7.79). Opponents give the ball away 22.8 times when facing the Lady Pirates, and four HU players rank in the MEAC's top-15 for steals, including conference-leader Willis (2.9). Ashley Bates (2.2), Jephany Brown (2.2) and Finney-Smith (2.0) all average at least two takeaways per game.
 
Finney-Smith is a workhorse for the Lady Pirates, averaging the second-most minutes in the conference. The senior averages 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while making 2.8 treys per contest on 30.5-percent shooting.
 
Hampton ranks third in the conference with 13.3 assists per game and has the highest assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9) in the conference. Allina Starr (4.4) and Willis (3.0) both rank in the top-10 in assists per game and are second and third, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
NSU vs. the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Norfolk State enters its 21st season of competition in the MEAC. In those 20-plus seasons the Spartans have accrued a 135-214 mark in conference games.
 
NSU clinched a winning MEAC record with a 63-49 win over South Carolina State on Feb. 19. The Spartans have just three other seasons with winning conference records: 1999-00 (12-6), 2001-02 (13-5), 2014-15 (11-5) and 2016-17 (9-7).
 
NSU is still searching for its first regular-season MEAC title and has just one tournament title to show, having won the 2002 MEAC Tournament.
 
Many MEAC teams are former CIAA rivals of the Spartans, and NSU is 217-263 all-time against teams currently in the MEAC with winning records over Maryland Eastern Shore (26-16), Morgan State (21-15), North Carolina Central (20-7), South Carolina State (22-18) and Savannah State (8-6).
 
Head Coach Larry Vickers is in his second full season of MEAC play and is 23-18 in conference action. Vickers has a winning record against five MEAC opponents and is .500 against three other teams.
 
Those Smothering Spartans
Through 27 games this season, Norfolk State has been one of the most-prolific shot-blocking teams in the nation. NSU averages 7.3 rejections per game, which is second in D-I. The Spartans' 197 total blocks also rank second nationally. NSU has recorded more blocks than its opponent in 17 of its 27 games and has lost the block battle only thrice.
 
The Spartans broke the program's Division-I era record for team blocks with a 10-rejection outing  against South Carolina State on Feb. 19, surpassing last season's mark of 178 blocks. NSU now has 198 team blocks this season. Norfolk State trails only the 1991-1992 team for the most rejections (211) in team history.
 
NSU rejected VCU 14 times in its season opener. Those 14 blocks are tied for the fifth-most in a single game in Division-I this season. Croker accounted for seven of those blocks.
 
Croker has been an intimidating force in the paint and leads the MEAC while ranking fourth in D-I with 3.4 blocks per game. The redshirt junior has recorded a block in 24 of 25 games this season with multiple rejections in 22 contests.
 
NSU is second in the MEAC in scoring defense (54.9 points per game), first in defensive field goal percentage (32.5 percent) and first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.6).
 
On the national level, the Spartans rank third in defensive field goal percentage, sixth in 3-point field goal percentage defense and 22nd in scoring defense.
 
Norfolk State set the program's Division-I record for fewest points allowed in a game in its 53-27 win over Campbell on Dec. 18 while limiting the Fighting Camels to 14.6 percent shooting. This season, the Spartans have held 23 of their 27 opponents below their season average in scoring.
 
NSU has held opponents to single-digit points in a quarter 15 times this season, including a season-high three times against Campbell. Additionally, Spartan opponents have shot less than 20 percent from the field in a quarter on 14 occasions.
 
The Spartans finish off possessions with hard work on the glass. NSU is second in the MEAC and 31st nationally in rebounding average (42.2) and is first in the conference and 18th in the nation in defensive rebounds per contest (28.9). The Spartans are also third in the conference in defensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 67.6 percent of their opponent's misses and are first in the MEAC and 74th nationally in rebounding margin (plus-4.5).
 
Last season, the Spartans ranked third in the MEAC in scoring defense, allowing only 57.8 points per game. Opponents shot just 33.4 percent from the field against NSU, which ranked third nationally. NSU blocked nearly six shots per game last season -- a mark that topped the MEAC and ranked sixth in Division I. The Spartans set the DI program record in total blocks (178) and trailed only the 1991-1992 team for the most rejections (211) in team history.
 
Spartan Spotlight
Kayla Roberts

• Scored her 1,000th-career point against Florida A&M in the 2017 MEAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
• First all-time in blocked shots (148). Ranks in the top-10 in seven career categories and is top-20 in five other categories.
• Is eighth in all-time (1,364) points and ranks 18th in per-game (12.1) scoring at NSU.
• 2x MEAC Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2017-18 (Nov. 21, Nov. 28). Also named MEAC Player of the Week on Dec. 19.
• Recorded four double-doubles this season and has 30 in her career.
• Has 72-career double-digit scoring games (15-career 20-point games) and 42 10-rebound games.
• Has led NSU in scoring 42 times, in rebounds 61 times, in blocks 40 times and in steals 33 times in her career (ties included).
• Is eighth in the MEAC in per-game scoring (14.0).
• Ranks eighth in the conference and 175th in D-I in rebounds per game (7.7).
• Is seventh in the conference and 117th nationally in blocks per game (1.5).
• Second in the MEAC in defensive rebounds per game (5.9).
• Ranks 127th among active Division-I players in career points, 20th in rebounding average and is 23rd in rebounds in D-I.
• Has the 40th-most double-doubles among active D-I players.

 
Khadedra Croker

• Set the D-I era record for most blocks in a single-season against North Carolina A&T and the all-time single-season record at Hampton, has 84 this season. Also ranks 14th in career rejections.
• Blocked seven shots at VCU in season opener, those are tied for the fifth-most by a Spartan in a single game.
• Recorded a block in 24 of 25 games this season and blocked multiple shots in 22 games.
• Ranks fourth nationally in blocks per game (3.4) and 12th in total blocks.
• Earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Dec. 19, Dec. 26, Jan. 30, Feb. 13, Feb. 20 and Feb. 27.
• Scored the game-winning bucket with 4.2 seconds remaining against UNCG.
• Reached double figures in scoring (10) for the first time vs. St. Francis Brooklyn and has done so for seven times.
• Set career highs with 19 points at William & Mary.
• Assisted on a career-high four baskets vs. Morgan State.
• Registered first-career double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds at MDES.
• Is ninth in the MEAC in defensive boards (4.9), 14th in field goal percentage (42.1) and 17th in total rebounding (6.4).

 
Alexys Long

• Is shooting 45.4 percent from deep this season, the best mark in D-I program history and the third-best mark all-time.
• Ranks second in NSU in career 3-point field goal percentage (39.5). Also ninth in career 3-point field goals made (79).
• Set career bests in points (29) and field goals (eight) while matching career highs in 3-point field goals made (five) at Savannah State. Has two 20-point games this season.
• Had first-career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds at Howard.
• Has scored in double-figures in 14 games this season.
• Is first in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage and is fourth in 3-point field goals made per game (2.0).
• Ranks 20th in scoring in the MEAC (10.6).

 
Raven Russell

• Broke the 20-point barrier for the first time with 21 points against Towson on Dec. 12, 2017.
• Made all 12 of her free throws at S.C. State. Tied for the sixth-most free throws in a single game by a NSU player. Also tied for the most made free throws by a MEAC player this season.
• Owns the 12th-best single-season field goal percentage (46.4) in NSU's D-I era.
• Notched first double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds at Savannah State.
• Had a season-high seven assists vs. Towson.
• Scored 13 points in her Spartan debut against VCU. Shot 2-for-5 from deep and shared the game high in steals (4).
• Made season-best three treys at MDES.
• Has 17 games with double-figure points this year.
• Is 19th in the MEAC in per-game scoring (10.7).
• Ranks fifth in the conference in field goal percentage. Also 12th in the conference in free throw percentage (71.6).

 
Gabrielle Swinson

• Made season debut vs. Towson and scored 18 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists.
• Notched a career-high 11 assists at William & Mary -- the second most in the MEAC this season.
• Has led NSU in assists 12 times this season and 23 times in her career (ties included).
• Recorded first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards at Howard.
• Registered a season-high four steals vs. Coppin State. Also blocked a career-best two shots.
• Set a career high with eight made free throws vs. Savannah State.
• Has the 14th-highest single-season free throw percentage (77.0) in program's D-I era.

 
Armani Franklin

• Led all bench scorers with 10 points at VCU Had a game-high seven assists and shared the game high in steals (4).
• Started first career game vs. Bowling Green.
• Made 6-of-8 free throws vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.
• Scored a season-high 14 points to lead NSU vs. UNCG on while also going 6-of-7 from the field.
• Grabbed a season-high seven rebounds at Hampton.

 
Kendrea Dawkins

• Blocked four shots and grabbed four rebounds against VCU.
• Scored her first points as a Spartan against Navy.
• Grabbed a season-high eight rebounds against North Carolina A&T. Has four or more rebounds in 12 games this year.
• Made first start of the season at South Carolina State.
• Scored a season-best 14 points at MDES while matching a season high with two made treys.

 
Yazmen Hannah

• Redshirted last season for medical reasons.
• Named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team in 2015-16.
• Scored a season-high 13 points at Savannah State.
• Started first game of the season against High Point, set a season high with seven rebounds and matched a career high with four steals.
• Has the 11th-highest career 3-point field goal percentage in NSU history (30.6). Also tied for 20th in career 3-point field goals.

 
De'Janaire Deas

• Set a season high with six points and matched a season high with four rebounds vs. ECU.
• Went a perfect 3-of-3 from the field at ECU, setting a career-high in field goals.
• Set a career high in steals with two vs. UNCG.
• Made a career-best three free throws at N.C. Central.
• Grabbed a career-high 10 boards at S.C. State.

 
Shayla Tanner

• Scored a season-high three points in nine minutes at VCU.
• Ranked fifth on the team in blocks (12) last season.
• Grabbed a season-best seven rebounds at N.C. Central.
• Scored a career-best 11 points against Florida A&M in the MEAC Tournament Quarterfinals on March 9, 2017.

 
Zairya West

• Started first-career game against VCU.
• Recorded three points and two assists in 21 minutes vs. VCU.
• Set a career-high with seven points at MDES.
• Matched a season best with three assists vs. Delaware State.

 
Alexis Sparkman

• Made her first-career 3-pointer as a Spartan against VCU.
• Made a 3-point field goal in each of her first three games this season.
• Recorded a season-high two steals at Longwood.

 
What's Next?
The Spartans await the official release of the MEAC Tournament bracket. The tournament runs March 5-10 at the Norfolk Scope Arena with the championship tilt set for Saturday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m.