Vickers Postgame Interview | Goodhope Postgame Interview

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Norfolk State women's basketball notched its fifth conference victory in as many games with a comfortable 78-42 win over Savannah State at Tiger Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Spartans (10-8, 5-0 MEAC) jumped out to their best-ever start to MEAC play and become the first NSU team to start a conference campaign at 5-0 since the 1995-96 team won its first six CIAA matchups.
 
The Spartans' 36-point margin of victory is their largest against a conference opponent in the tenure of head coach Larry Vickers. NSU last won a conference game by as many points when it defeated Delaware State 95-55 on the road on Feb. 23, 2015.
 
In total, all 10 Spartans who saw action registered a point and five netted eight or more. Two NSU players broke double digits, led by Raven Russell's game-high 22 points. Russell set a career-high in points in the second 20-point game of her NSU career and matched her personal best with eight field goals.
 
Danyael Goodhope joined Russell in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Once again, Goodhope proved to be a disruptive force with four steals and chipped in three rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Defensively, the Spartans limited the Lady Tigers (4-9, 2-2 MEAC) to 22.8-percent shooting, including a 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) performance from 3-point range. NSU starved SSU of its regular diet of points off turnovers by giving the ball away only 14 times. The Lady Tigers entered Saturday's game forcing 23.8 turnovers per game.
 
The Spartans also moved the ball with intent, assisting on 21 of their 28 field goals. The MEAC's leader in assists per game, NSU has assisted on 20 or more baskets five times this season and are 5-0 in those games. Six players recorded two or more assists, led by Dana Echols' six.
 
While NSU managed to limit its turnovers, it could not keep Savannah State off the offensive glass. The Lady Tigers vacuumed up 19 offensive rebounds. However, the Spartans did limit SSU to only 16 second-chance points.
 
Alexxus Sowell led the charge on the boards with a game-high 14. Of those 14, eight came on the offensive end.
 
The Spartans held Savannah State to only six points on 2-of-13 shooting in the opening quarter.
 
Six-straight points by Khadedra Croker and a 3-pointer from Russell gave NSU a 9-0 lead after six minutes of action. The Spartans held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the first six minutes and 17 seconds of the game before a jumper from Sowell.
 
A personal 4-0 spurt from Heniaya Moton cut NSU's lead to 10-6 with under 90 seconds to play in the frame, but the Spartans recovered and entered the second period with a 14-6 lead on the strength of two Croker foul shots and a layup from Goodhope.
 
The Lady Tigers found even less success from the field in the second quarter, shooting 7.7 percent (1-of-13), and trailed 32-13 at the intermission.
 
Norfolk State held a 23-6 lead with 5:33 left in the half on the strength of a 13-0 run spanning both quarters. The Spartans netted the first nine points in the second quarter and held SSU scoreless for 6:38 dating back to the latter stages of the first quarter.
 
Russell came on in a big way in the second quarter and personally outscored the Lady Tigers 8-7 in the frame.
 
Alexys Long punctuated the half with five-unanswered in the final 42 seconds. Long made her lone 3-pointer of the night before hitting a jumper in the dying seconds of the quarter.
 
Returning to the site of her 29-point outing last season, Long looked to facilitate more and finished the game with five assists, matching the career-high she set just seven days ago.
 
Savannah State showed greater resolve in the third quarter, but Norfolk State still managed to grow its lead to 51-28 going into the final period. The Spartans pushed ahead to 47-19 following a 10-1 run that took slightly more than two minutes. De'Janaire Deas netted the last four points of that run, and her layup gave NSU a 28-point edge with 3:20 left in the quarter.
 
The Lady Tigers scored nine of the final 13 points of the quarter. With 3:07 showing on the clock, Jalea Gray hit SSU's first 3-pointer of the game, and Robbi Allen followed with two free throws. After a Russell basket, Moton scored four unanswered before Deas put a stop to the run with her third field goal of the quarter.
 
Deas made an impact off the bench with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. For the game, NSU's bench outscored its counterpart 41-15, setting a season high in bench production for the Spartans.
 
With the outcome already decided, the fourth quarter opened up and both sides shot 50 percent or better in the frame. Goodhope scored 10 of her 12 points in the quarter, and the Spartans made eight trips to the foul line.
 
Norfolk State was superb at the charity stripe all game long, making 16 of its 19 free throws (84.2 percent).
 
The Spartans locked down on SSU's leading scorer, Myasia Jones. Jones managed only two points on 0-of-11 shooting with five turnovers and entered Saturday as the MEAC's fourth-leading scorer with 16.9 points per game.
 
Norfolk State goes for a 6-0 start to MEAC play on Monday, when it battles South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m. in Orangeburg, S.C.