NORFOLK, Va. – The opportunity to collect a pair of season sweeps awaits Norfolk State women's basketball as the Spartans head to the Sunshine State to face Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at 2 p.m. before a Monday matchup at Florida A&M at 4 p.m.
 
NSU (11-10, 6-2 MEAC) looks to halt a two-game losing streak while also protecting its hold on a top-three spot in the conference standings.
 
The Opening Tip
A fast start to the game by Howard gave the Bison the momentum they needed to fend off a series of comeback efforts by Norfolk State in their 74-70 win inside Burr Gymnasium last time out. HU built an early 11-2 lead, were ahead for 33 minutes and 21 seconds of the game and never trailed in the second half.
 
The charity stripe played a leading role in Saturday's game as the two sides combined to take 58 free throws. HU went to the line 33 times and converted 23 (69.7 percent), while the Spartans shot 64 percent (16-of-25) on free throws.
 
Four Spartans finished the game in double figures, led by 16-point outings from Raven Russell and La'Deja James. Russell collected a pair of steals and shot 50 percent (5-for-10) overall and from 3-point range, going 3-for-6 from deep. James scored her 16 off the NSU bench and added five rebounds and two assists.
 
Joining Russell and James in double digits were Kendrea Dawkins and Alexys Long. Dawkins grabbed seven rebounds, six offensive, and made a trio of treys. Long chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Norfolk State opened the afternoon's scoring, but Howard quickly answered with an 11-0 run behind three 3-pointers. The Spartans regrouped and closed out the period on a 6-1 run. Danyael Goodhope gave new life to NSU in the later stages of the quarter with two steals, an assist and a layup of her own.
 
Howard upped its lead to 33-28 with 2:32 to go in the half, but the Spartans countered with a 7-0 run to match their largest lead of the game. James contributed five of those seven for NSU with a pair of layups and a free throw. When Long sank a foul shot with 54 seconds on the clock, the Spartans led 35-33, but HU scored the final five points of the half and entered the break up 38-35.
 
The Bison shot better than 56 percent in the third quarter and built a seven-point advantage by the end of the period. The Spartans pulled to within a point with 2:56 to go, but Howard ended the quarter on a 6-0 run.
 
NSU chipped away during the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and tied the score at 64-64 with 5:24 to go. Russell sank two free throws to knot the score, but the Bison broke the deadlock in less than a minute and led by four with 4:11 to go.
 
Norfolk State made one final push in the last 38 seconds of the game. Khadedra Croker made two foul shots to cut the deficit to four before Sarah Edmond split a pair of free throws. James laid it in with 16 seconds remaining to make the score 73-70, but the Spartans could not make up those last three points.
 
Sizing up B-CU
The Lady Wildcats enter Saturday with a 12-9 record and are 5-4 in MEAC play. Last year's regular season co-champions currently sit in a two-way tie with Morgan State for fifth place in the MEAC standings.
 
B-CU split games against their guests from North Carolina in the previous week of MEAC games. The Lady Wildcats trounced N.C. Central 72-54 last Saturday before suffering a 72-48 loss to N.C. A&T two days later.
 
Angel Golden enjoyed a career afternoon against the Eagles, finishing with personal bests in points (33) and steals (six). The Tampa, Florida native scored 17 points in the first quarter and made her first eight shot attempts.
 
Golden enters the game against NSU as the MEAC's second-leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points per game. In addition, she ranks second in made treys per game (3.0) and her 31.0-percent shooting from deep is 11th-best in the conference.
 
Two days later, N.C. A&T ended the Lady Wildcat's three-game winning streak. B-CU allowed the Aggies to shoot 49.2 percent from the floor and managed just 32.7 percent in the defeat.   
 
Golden was the lone B-CU player to finish in double figures and had 13. A&T made her work hard for each point, and Golden finished the game 6-of-20 from the floor and 1-of-7 from the 3-point line.
 
Chasimmie Brown averaged nine rebounds across the two games and is a nightly double-double threat. Her 11.0 points per game rank 16th in the MEAC, and she is fourth in the conference in rebounding (8.2). Additionally, Brown chips in 1.1 blocks per game.
 
The Spartans and Lady Wildcats share only one non-conference opponent in Liberty. B-CU edged LU 81-76 in overtime on Nov. 9.
 
Sizing up FAMU
The Lady Rattlers (3-18, 1-8) enter the weekend on a four-game losing streak and must play Howard on Saturday before hosting NSU. FAMU dropped its last two games to N.C. A&T (56-48) and to N.C. Central (64-57).
 
Mya Moye was the Lady Rattler's leading scorer in both games – finishing with 11 points against the Aggies and 15 versus NCCU. On the season, the three-time MEAC Rookie of the Week is averaging 11.5 points to pace FAMU.
 
Dy'Manee Royal flirted with a double-double against N.C. A&T, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds, before recording one with 11 points and 10 boards against N.C. Central. Royal is the Lady Rattler's leading rebounder with 7.0 and has upped her game since conference play began. In nine MEAC games, she is averaging 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds on 53.9-percent shooting.
 
FAMU enters the weekend with the conference's most-anemic offense, averaging only 50.7 points per contest. The Lady Rattlers rank second-to-last in both field goal percentage (33.8) and 3-point field goal percentage (24.4) and own the worst turnover margin in the MEAC (minus-5.9).
 
All-Time Series vs. B-CU
Saturday marks the 35th all-time meeting in a series that dates back to the 1997-98 season. NSU won seven of the first eight meetings but has dropped 11 of the last 16 contests.
 
The Spartans snapped a five-game losing streak against B-CU and handed head coach Larry Vickers his first win against the Lady Wildcats with a 57-50 result on Jan. 14. That win extended NSU's unbeaten start to MEAC play to four games.
 
Seven Spartans logged at least one field goal in the win, and two breached double digits. Dawkins led the way with game highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) for her first double-double at Norfolk State. Croker added 12 points, a personal-best four assists and two blocks. 
 
NSU shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half and led 35-27. The Spartans assisted on 11 of their 15 baskets in the half and saw four players record two or more assists.
 
The Spartans upped their lead to 15 points in the third quarter and put on a defensive clinic in the frame. Bethune-Cookman managed only five points in the third on 2-of-10 shooting.
 
Goodhope made her first start of the year against B-CU and filled the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Her full-court pressure gave the Lady Wildcats a headache throughout the game.
 
Vickers is 1-4 all-time against the Lady Wildcats. B-CU's Vanessa Blair-Lewis is 8-5 versus NSU.
 
All-Time Series vs. FAMU
Monday marks the 33rd all-time meeting in a series that began during the 1996-97 season. The Spartans are 8-24 all-time against the Lady Rattlers but are the winners of the last two contests.
 
After splitting the first six games, FAMU dominated the series to the tune of a 17-2 record between the 2000-01 and 2012-13 seasons. A lone 52-47 NSU win in the 2005 MEAC Tournament split win streaks of eight and nine games by the Lady Rattlers.
 
Earlier this season, the Spartans nearly lost a 16-point third-quarter advantage in their 60-58 win over FAMU. The Lady Rattlers closed out the game on a 10-1 run and had the chance to win the game outright on the final shot but instead turned the ball over with 0.4 seconds remaining.
 
NSU shot poorly in the game (32.8 percent), but its 18 free throws helped carry it to victory. Dawkins turned in a 6-of-8 performance at the charity stripe as part of her career-high 20 points.
 
The Spartans broke the game open with a 14-1 run to close the first half and were up 37-21 by the early portions of the third quarter.
 
In the fourth, NSU went the final 5:28 without a field goal as FAMU rallied with a 10-1 run. A hustle play by Croker sealed the win as she hit the floor to force a held ball and give possession back to the Spartans with 0.4 seconds left. For the game, Croker blocked six shots.
 
Vickers is 2-2 all-time against FAMU. Lady Rattler head coach LeDawn Gibson is 9-4 versus the Spartans.
 
NSU vs. the MEAC
Norfolk State is in the midst of its 22nd season of MEAC competition. 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 141-217 (.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 185-207 (.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 29-21 (.580) record in MEAC play and is 26-14 (.650) 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) 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 25th in scoring defense (56.6), 47th in field goal percentage defense (36.5) and 13th in opponent 3-point percentage (26.3).
 
At the conference level, the Spartans rank first in scoring defense since the 2016-17 season, allowing 56.9 points per game in that span. During the same time period, Norfolk State tops all MEAC teams in field goal percentage defense (33.9), blocks per game (6.0) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.6).
 
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 (39.4), defensive 3-point field goal percentage (26.3) and assists per game (14.1) The records for field goal percentage and defensive 3-point field goal percentage were set just one year ago.
 
In addition, the Spartans rank second in program history in scoring defense (56.6), third in free throw percentage (68.0) and in defensive field goal percentage (36.5), fifth in blocks per game (4.1) and in 3-point field goal percentage (30.1), sixth in total blocks (86) and eighth in 3-point field goals (110).
 
Several Spartans are on track to enter into the D-I single-season record book as well. Russell's field goal percentage of 46.1 is 13th best in NSU's D-I history, and Long is seventh in 3-point percentage (34.0) and tied for 15th in made treys (36). Dana Echols' mark of 5.1 assists per game ranks second, and she is ninth in single-season assists (107). Lastly, Croker is sixth in blocks per game (1.9) and 11th in total blocks (34), and James is in a tie for the ninth-highest free throw percentage (78.0).
 
At the career level, Croker continues to climb the total blocks ledger and is third with 127. She also ranks first in blocks per game with 2.8.
 
Long's 3-point shooting percentage of 37.7 is currently second all-time in NSU history, and her 118 made are the joint-fifth most. The senior sharpshooter is also seventh in all-time 3-point attempts with 313.
 
Russell currently ranks 20th in all-time scoring average at 11.2 points per game. She also ranks 12th in field goal percentage (45.8) and is 16th in career 3-point field goal shooting (28.8).
 
Dawkins' mark of 0.7 blocks per game is good for 18th in program annals.
 
What's Next?
NSU returns home for a pair of games against N.C. Central and N.C. A&T on Feb. 16 and Feb. 18, respectively. The Spartans then close out the month at Morgan State on Feb. 23.