RICHMOND, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball team fell 77-69 to the Richmond Spiders, despite a Spartans' fourth quarter comeback that fell short at the Robins Center on Monday evening.

After being down by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, the Spartans rallied in the fourth quarter to cut the Spiders's lead to just three points following a layup by Mikaela Jones with 1:34 left in the game. NSU was unable to make the score any closer, as the Spiders converted free-throws down the stretch and ended the game on an 8-3 run in the final minute to seal the win. The Spartans started the fourth quarter on a 13-4 run, and held Richmond scoreless from the 7:41 mark until the Spiders converted a pair of free throws from Kailyn Fee with just one minute remaining in regulation.

Chanette Hicks single-handedly brought the Spartans back in the third quarter, scoring 17 of her 31 points in the period. The Spartans went on a 14-0 run in the third, capped off by a Hicks layup with 1:50 left in the period to cut the Spiders' lead to 56-50. Richmond answered with a couple of baskets before the end of the third, sending the game into the final quarter with the score 56-53.

Richmond opened up a sizeable lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Spartans 31-11 while shooting 10-of-14 (71%) from the floor. The Spiders forced 11 turnovers on eight steals in the second, scoring 19 of their 31 points in the period off turnovers.

The Spartans opened the game efficiently, going 7-of-15(47%) from the floor while the Spiders started 4-of-13(31%). The Spartans headed into the second period up 15-12. The Spiders started to play zone defense for the rest of the game, forcing the Spartans to shoot longer jump shops and denying them looks in the paint. The Spartans outscored the Spiders in three of the four quarters, but the 31 point Spiders' explosion in the second quarter proved to be too much.

Hicks led NSU with 31 points, her second 30 point game of the season. She also had seven rebounds, five assists and eight steals in the contest. Jones scored a career high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, and also grabbed six rebounds to go along with two blocks. Danyael Goodhope returned to action for the Spartans playing in just her second game of the season, finishing with seven points, three steals and an assist.

Both teams shot around 45% from the field, but the Spiders held a noticeable advantage going 8-of-20(40%) from behind the arc. The Spiders were also clutch from the charity stripe, converting 25-of-28 (89.3%) of their free-throws. Along with the Spiders' huge free-throw advantage, the Spartans were in foul trouble all night with three players finishing with at least four fouls.

The Spartans return home after the New Year, with Bethune-Cookman coming to Echols Hall on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. in the MEAC conference opener.