Vickers Postgame Interview | James Postgame Interview

NORFOLK, Va. – A 10-2 run to start the game gave Norfolk State women's basketball the separation it needed for a 63-50 win and a 1-0 start to MEAC play against visiting Delaware State on Saturday evening. The Spartans (6-8, 1-0 MEAC) won the first quarter 20-9 then held the Lady Hornets (3-11, 0-1 MEAC) at bay for the remainder of the contest.
 
La'Deja James carried the day for NSU with a strong second-half performance. The redshirt-junior guard scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the final 20 minutes and did not miss a shot inside the 3-point arc for the game – going 7-for-7 on 2-pointers. In addition, she set the game-high with three steals.
 
Defensively, Norfolk State held DSU to their second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Lady Hornets shot 30.0 percent from the field and turned the ball over 23 times. The Spartans made the most of those giveaways, scoring 21 points off turnovers.
 
NSU limited Delaware State to nine points on 3-of-13 shooting in the first quarter, jumping out to a 20-9 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Spartans began the game on a 10-2 run across the first five minutes and 36 seconds of play. DSU's NaJai Pollard scored on her first shot of the game with 8:42 on the clock, but the Lady Hornets went without another point until Lanayjha Ashe's 3-pointer 4:12 later.
 
Alexys Long had an immediate response for Ashe, hitting a 3-pointer to make the score 13-5 with 3:40 left to play. Long's trey keyed an 8-0 run that gave NSU an 18-5 edge with less than three minutes left in the quarter.
 
Pollard netted four of the quarter's final six points and finished the period with six on 2-of-3 shooting.
 
The Spartans cooled off in the second quarter, and the two sides played to a 10-10 draw in the period. NSU shot just 30 percent in the quarter and missed all four of its attempts from deep. In addition, Norfolk State turned the ball over seven times in the second after giving it away only twice in the opening quarter.
 
NSU netted four of the first six points in the quarter and led 24-11 with 8:11 to play, but the Lady Hornets cut the deficit to single digits on the strength of a 7-0 run spanning 2:15.
 
Ashe and Pollard contributed all seven points for DSU during the run with Ashe bookending a Pollard three-point play with a 3-pointer and free throw.
 
The Spartans endured the Lady Hornets' push and countered with a 6-1 run to close out the half. De'Janaire Deas laid the ball in with 1:18 remaining to give her team a 29-18 edge. Following that, the two sides split a pair of free throws each to make the halftime score 30-19.
 
Deas scored eight points off the bench for the Spartans and grabbed six rebounds.
 
Norfolk State shot 58.3 percent in the third quarter but could not grow its lead as both sides netted 18 points in the period. The Lady Hornets made only 38.9-percent of their shots in the quarter, but seven offensive rebounds kept DSU in the game.
 
Across the 40 minutes of action, Delaware State out-rebounded NSU 40-37 and held a 19-13 edge in offensive boards. Tylea Galloway and Pollard shared the game high with nine rebounds each, and Pollard grabbed five offensive boards.
 
The two teams traded buckets for the majority of the quarter with NSU's lead never dipping below nine points or growing beyond 14.
 
A Khadedra Croker jumper and two free throws from Zairya West put the Spartans ahead 44-30 with 3:41 left in the quarter, but Delaware State quickly cut the deficit to 10 points again. After a James layup, the Lady Hornets shaved the lead to nine points with 40 seconds left on the clock, but another layup by James made the score 48-37 heading into the final period.
 
James shook off a quiet first half in the third quarter, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
 
NSU scored the first 11 points of the final quarter to build its largest lead of the game and seal the win. The Spartans held the Lady Hornets scoreless for the first 5:12 of the quarter and led 59-37 before Elayna Birch-Smith gave DSU its first points of the period.
 
Jameila Barrett scored with 2:45 left in the game, and NSU led 63-43. Following that basket, Delaware State netted the final seven points, five coming from Yazmin Batch.
 
Pollard went scoreless in the fourth quarter and had only four points total in the second half. The first team Preseason All-MEAC honoree ended the game with 14 points – 10 below her season average – on 5-of-16 shooting with seven turnovers.
 
Long joined James in double figures with 12 points, two rebounds and a block and steal apiece.
 
Croker chipped in eight points and a team-best eight rebounds to go alongside a game-high three blocks – her 29th game with multiple blocks in a Spartan jersey. As a team, NSU rejected six shots on Saturday.
 
For the game, the Spartans struggled behind the 3-point arc, shooting only 3-of-19. NSU made only one trey in the second half and missed seven-straight between its final make of the first quarter and James' trey at the 7:05 mark of the fourth.
 
Norfolk State goes for a 2-0 start to conference play on Monday, when it hosts Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Rattlers kicked off their conference slate with a 74-68 loss at Howard.