NORFOLK, Va. – Having already played 10 of its 16 MEAC games, Norfolk State women's basketball begins its push towards the finish line with a pair of home games this Saturday and Monday. First, the Spartans (12-11, 7-3 MEAC) welcome North Carolina Central on Saturday at 4 p.m. before a date with conference-leading N.C. A&T on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
 
The Opening Tip
NSU put an end to its three-game losing streak with its 69-45 win over Florida A&M inside the Al Lawson Center on Monday evening. The Spartans led for the final 35 minutes and three seconds of the game in their fifth win by 20-plus points this season.
 
Three NSU players reached double figures in scoring and six had five or more points. Of the 12 Spartans to see the court on Monday, nine broke into the scoring column.
 
A trio of Spartans shared the game high with 14 points apiece. Raven Russell added four rebounds and three steals to her 14, while Kendrea Dawkins scored 14 with seven rebounds. Lastly, La'Deja James came off the bench for 14 points, five rebounds and two assists on 5-of-10 shooting for her 11th-straight outing with 10 or more points.
 
After getting their feet underneath them, the Spartans scored 15 in the last six minutes of the first on 8-of-11 shooting (72.7 percent) and three turnovers. A key 13-2 run over 4:17 turned the game in NSU's favor. James scored the first nine of the run and put her team ahead for good with a 3-pointer at the 5:03 mark.
 
FAMU opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run and cut NSU's advantage to 10 points. The Spartans turned it over three times during the Lady Rattler's run and were 1-of-4 from the field. De'Janaire Deas stopped a scoring drought of 4:28 on a jumper at the 3:28 mark, and Norfolk State answered with a 7-1 run.
 
Defensively, the Spartans held FAMU to 26.3-percent shooting, including a 2-of-17 mark from deep. However, NSU struggled to keep the Lady Rattlers off the offensive glass. Led by Dy'Manee Royal's four offensive rebounds, FAMU snared 17 of its own misses and scored 15 second-chance points.
 
Her second-quarter outburst excluded, Mya Moye struggled against the Spartans. FAMU's leading scorer netted 12 points but did so on 2-of-12 shooting. In her two games against NSU this season, Moye shot just 25 percent from the floor and was 3-of-20 on 3-pointers.
 
Norfolk State was plus-one in the turnover department with 19 giveaways to FAMU's 20. However, the Spartans scored 26 points off the Lady Rattlers' miscues while limiting them to eight points off of turnovers.
 
Monday's victory gives NSU its longest-ever winning streak against FAMU. Dating back to last season, the Spartans have won each of the last three against the Lady Rattlers. The win also gives head coach Larry Vickers a 3-2 record against Florida A&M. Vickers now has a winning record against seven MEAC programs.
 
Sizing up NCCU
The homestanding Eagles (7-17, 4-7) split games against Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State in week six of the MEAC slate. NCCU lost 69-61 to MDES on Saturday before rallying with a 65-64 win over DSU.
 
NCCU led the Hawks 54-53 with three minutes remaining in the game, but MDES closed out the contest on a 16-7 run. Up by a point with 43 seconds left, the Hawks made seven of their eight free throws to ice the game away.
 
Paulina Afriyie was the lone Eagle in double figures on Saturday with a game-high 22 points along with seven rebounds and a block and a steal apiece. This season, Afriyie ranks in the top-10 in the conference in scoring (13.2, 10th), rebounding (9.1, third), field goal percentage (44.9, eighth), and blocks per game (1.3, sixth).
 
It was the Eagles' turn to come through late on Monday as Rodneysha Martin hit the game-winning shot with just over a minute left on the clock. The N.C. Central defense then forced misses on Delaware State's last three possessions to give the Eagle's their fourth conference win.
 
Martin was one of four NCCU players to reach double figures on Monday and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Since MEAC play began, Martin has been the Eagles' leading scorer with 13.0 points per game against conference foes. In that same stretch, Martin is shooting 38.7 percent from deep, good for fifth-best in the MEAC, and is averaging 1.6 steals.
 
The Spartans and Eagles share one common non-conference opponent. N.C. Central lost 80-69 at High Point in its second game of the season.
 
Sizing up N.C. A&T
The Aggies (13-10, 10-0) enter their weekend slate as the lone unbeaten team in MEAC play and hold a two-game lead in the loss column atop the conference table. N.C. A&T plays Howard in the nation's capital on Saturday before coming to Norfolk.
 
N.C. A&T racked up wins over Delaware State (72-49) and Maryland Eastern Shore (70-58) last week to continue its unbeaten start to conference play.
 
Defense is the Aggies calling card as they lead the conference in scoring defense (54.5), field goal percentage defense (35.3) and defensive rebounding percentage (70.0). Against MEAC foes, N.C. A&T is allowing only 46.3 points per game on 28.3-percent shooting and is outscoring opponents by over 16 points per game.
 
A pair of double-digit scorers in C'Coriea Foy and Cinia McCray lead N.C. A&T on offense. Foy ranks 11th in the conference in scoring at 12.8 points per game and averages 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game – the second-most in the MEAC. McCray's 12.6 points per game are good for 13th in the conference, and she hits 1.9 treys per game on 32.7-percent shooting.
 
The Aggies are monsters on the glass, averaging 47.3 boards per game in MEAC contests, including 16.4 offensive rebounds. Three players average more than five rebounds per game for N.C. A&T, including Rayven Peeples. Peeples' mark of 6.3 boards per game is 11th-best in the conference.
 
NSU and N.C. A&T share one common non-conference opponent in Navy. The Aggies fell to the Mids, 72-49, in late November.
 
All-Time Series vs. NCCU
The two sides are set for the 28th all-time meeting in the 38-year-old series. NSU owns a 20-7 record against the Eagles and is on a two-game winning streak.
 
The Spartans took 16 of the first 18 games between 1980 and 1997 before an 11-year lull in the series. Since then, N.C. Central is 5-4 against NSU. 
 
Norfolk State was the victor in the lone game last season, winning 75-60 in Durham. The Spartans led by only two points at halftime but broke the game open with a 23-11 third quarter. 
 
Kayla Roberts led the way with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals on 7-of-9 shooting, including a 2-of-2 mark from 3-point range. Two other Spartans reached double figures. Khadedra Croker chipped in 13 with seven rebounds and six blocks, and Armani Franklin added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
The Spartans were dominant inside in that game -- outscoring the Eagles 48-16 in the paint, racking up a 53-41 edge in the rebounding battle and blocking 10 shots. 
 
N.C. Central managed only 27.9-percent shooting in the game and were 7-of-27 from 3-point range. Kieche White netted a team-best 12 for the Eagles, and Martin and Afriyie each had nine. Afriyie narrowly missed out on a double-double with 12 rebounds and had four blocked shots as well.
 
Vickers is 2-0 all-time against the Eagles. NCCU's Trisha Stafford-Odom is 0-1 versus NSU.
 
All-Time Series vs. N.C. A&T
Monday represents the 36th all-time meeting in this series with the Aggies holding a slim 18-17 advantage over the Spartans.
 
NSU took each of the first three games and was 9-1 after the first 10. Since then, the Spartans have never managed to string together more than two-straight wins over N.C. A&T, who are 14-3 against NSU since the 2006-07 season.
 
The Aggies took last year's meeting – a 53-51 grind inside Corbett Sports Center. The Spartans held N.C. A&T to 31.8-percent shooting and a 1-of-15 clip from 3-point range, but 22 points off 25 NSU turnovers helped the Aggies steal the win.
 
Seven of those turnovers came in the third quarter, where N.C. A&T reversed a halftime deficit to regain the lead for good. NSU shot 2-for-13 in the frame and trailed 40-38 going into the fourth.
 
Vickers is 1-1 all-time against the Aggies. N.C. A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson is 4-2 against NSU.
 
NSU vs. the MEAC
Norfolk State is in the midst of its 22nd season of MEAC play. The Spartans joined the conference for the 1997-98 season after spending their first 24 seasons in Division II as a member of the CIAA.
 
In its 21-plus seasons of MEAC play, NSU is 142-218 (.394) in conference tilts. The Spartans posted consecutive winning seasons in the MEAC for the first time last season, going 11-5 after a 9-7 mark in 2016-17. Norfolk State has not turned in three-straight winning conference records since its run of seven-straight from 1991 to 1997.
 
The Spartans are 186-208 (.472) all-time against current members of the MEAC. NSU holds winning marks against Maryland Eastern Shore (26-17), South Carolina State (23-18), Morgan State (21-16), North Carolina Central (20-7) and Savannah State (9-7).
 
Vickers owns a 30-22 (.577) record in MEAC play and is 27-15 (.643) since his first full season in 2016-17. Vickers has a winning record against South Carolina State (5-1), Delaware State (4-1), Savannah State (4-3), Maryland Eastern Shore (3-1), Coppin State (3-2), Florida A&M (3-2) and North Carolina Central (2-0).
 
Defensive Titans
An unyielding defense has become a trademark for the Spartans under Vickers, who have turned in a top-40 scoring defense and a top-three field goal percentage defense in each of the last two seasons. In 2016-17, Norfolk State ranked 39th in D-I after allowing only 57.8 points per game and owned the nation's third-stingiest field goal percentage defense (33.4).
 
This season, NSU ranks 24th in scoring defense (56.4), 32nd in field goal percentage defense (36.0) and ninth in opponent 3-point percentage (26.0).
 
Record Watching
The 2018-19 edition of the Spartans figure to leave their marks on the record books.
 
As a team, NSU is on pace to set single-season Division I marks in field goal percentage (39.5), defensive 3-point field goal percentage (26.0) and assists per game (14.3).
 
In addition, the Spartans rank second in program history in scoring defense (56.4), third in free throw percentage (67.9) and in defensive field goal percentage (36.0), fifth in blocks per game (4.3), in 3-point field goal percentage (30.6) and in total blocks (98) and sixth in 3-point field goals (121).
 
Several Spartans are on track to enter into the D-I single-season record book as well. Alexys Long is seventh in 3-point percentage (34.5) and 11th in made treys (40). Dana Echols' mark of 5.1 assists per game ranks second, and she is eighth in single-season assists (118).
 
Croker is fourth in blocks per game (2.1) and tied for eighth in total blocks (41), and James is fourth in steals per game (2.5), ninth in free throw percentage (78.7) and 10th in scoring average (13.5). Lastly, Russell ranks 12 in free throw percentage (77.6) and 14th in field goal percentage (45.9), and Deas owns the 13th-best shooting percentage (46.0).
 
At the career level, Croker continues to climb the total blocks ledger and is third with 134. She also ranks first in blocks per game with 2.9.
 
Long's 3-point shooting percentage of 37.8 is currently second all-time in NSU history, and her 122 made treys are the fourth most. The senior sharpshooter is also seventh in all-time 3-point attempts with 323.
 
Russell currently ranks 20th in all-time scoring average at 11.1 points per game. She also ranks 12th in field goal percentage (45.7) and is tied for 13th in career 3-point field goal shooting (29.5).
 
Dawkins' mark of 0.7 blocks per game is good for 18th in program annals.
 
What's Next?
NSU closes out the last full month of conference play in Baltimore with a game at Morgan State on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. After that, the Spartans sandwich a road game at Delaware State on March 4 with home dates against Coppin State (March 2) and Howard (March 7).