Vickers Postgame Interview | Long Postgame Interview

NORFOLK, Va. – An 11-point second-quarter lead by Coppin State was not enough to carry the Lady Eagles (1-14, 1-2 MEAC) to victory, as a dominant third quarter by Norfolk State delivered the Spartans (8-8, 3-0 MEAC) to a 68-63 win at the Physical Education Complex in Baltimore, Maryland. The win represents NSU's greatest come-from-behind victory this season.
 
For the game, NSU shot the cover off the ball – making 52.1-percent of its shots and going 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from 3-point range. The mark of 61.5 percent from deep is a season high for the Spartans, who had not shot 50-percent or better from 3-point range since last February's game against Morgan State.
 
Three Spartans scored 12 or more points on Saturday, led by Alexys Long's season-best 19. The Clinton, Maryland native made seven of her 11 shots playing in her home state, including a 5-of-6 showing from deep.
 
Kendrea Dawkins provided the early spark for NSU and ended the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four assists. Coming off the bench, Danyael Goodhope logged her first double-digit scoring game for the Spartans with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
 
Both sides were scorching hot from the field in the first quarter, and Coppin State led 21-15 after the opening period. CSU made eight of their 15 shot attempts (53.3 percent) in the quarter and was 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from 3-point land. The Spartans countered with 50-percent shooting from the floor and a 3-of-4 performance from long range.
 
NSU trailed 11-2 after the first four minutes and nine seconds of the game as Brooke Fields left her mark on the early goings of the game. The former Division II standout made good on her first three shots, all coming from behind the arc.
 
The Spartans quickly crawled out of the early deficit on the strength of Dawkins' long-range shooting. The redshirt-junior made a pair of 3-pointers in 40 second's time to make the score 11-8. When Danyael Goodhope's jumper went down at the 4:20 mark, Norfolk State completed an 8-0 run and trailed by only a point, 11-10.
 
Dawkins netted the first eight points of the game for the Spartans and finished the first half with 11 points on 2-of-3 shooting from deep and six rebounds.
 
Neither team could manage another run in the quarter, and the lead hovered between one and four points until the final field goal of the quarter gave Coppin State a 21-15 edge.
 
The second quarter saw regression from both teams as both red-hot offenses cooled down to sub-40 percent shooting. However, the Spartans remained dialed in from deep, making three of their four shots from beyond the arc.
 
After a quiet first quarter, first team Preseason All-MEAC selection Chance Graham took over in the second, scoring nine of CSU's 15 points.
 
Graham turned in her ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds alongside two assists and a pair of steals. The forward from Upper Marlboro, Md. was one of two 20-point scorers for the Lady Eagles as Fields netted a game-high 21.
 
Five-straight points by Graham to start the quarter gave Coppin State its largest lead of the game at 26-15 with 7:54 to play, but six-unanswered by the Spartans kept CSU from running away.
 
After a scoreless drought of 3:43 to start the period, Goodhope put NSU on the board with her first 3-pointer of the season. Less than a minute later, Dawkins converted a traditional three-point play, and the Lady Eagle lead shrunk to 26-21.
 
Twice more in the quarter, CSU built a nine-point lead, and the Lady Eagles led by seven, 36-29 at the intermission.
 
The Spartans' fortunes turned in the third quarter, where NSU out-scored Coppin State 22-7 to take a 51-43 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. Norfolk State clamped down on defense in the period, holding the Lady Eagles to 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) shooting.
 
NSU scored the first six points of the quarter. After a free throw by Jalynda Salley, Dawkins laid it in to tie the score, 39-39, with 5:57 on the clock. Dana Echols then hit a jumper to put the Spartans on top for good.
 
Echols scored all eight of her points in the third quarter and finished the game with six rebounds and a game-high six assists. The Spartans assisted on 20 of their 25 field goals on Saturday – their fourth game this season with 20 or more assists. NSU is 4-0 this season when recording 20 or more assists.
 
Echols' jumper started a 10-0 run spanning 3:50. When it ended, the Spartans led 49-39.
 
In the fourth quarter, NSU extended its lead to 14 points before withstanding a late-game surge by Coppin State. Long's 3-pointer with 3:22 left gave the Spartans a 66-42 lead, but Norfolk State scored just two more points to close out the game.
 
Graham scored the next four points to whittle to lead to 66-57. Following a pair of split free throws by Goodhope, Fields netted the next five, highlighted by a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining, to make the score 67-62. Both teams then split two free throws each to close out the game.
 
The Spartans out-rebounded the Lady Eagles 36-30. Five NSU players grabbed five or more rebounds, led by seven apiece from Dawkins and Khadedra Croker. The Suffolk, Virginia native also blocked three shots for her 31st game with multiple rejections since the start of last season.
 
Norfolk State gave the ball away 16 times for its fourth-consecutive game with 20 or fewer turnovers. The Spartans entered Saturday averaging 20.2 turnovers.
 
NSU returns to the court on Monday, when it hosts Bethune-Cookman at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Wildcats fell at Howard 61-40 on Saturday afternoon.