DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman outscored Norfolk State 23-9 over the final 6:10 of the game to erase a 49-42 deficit en route to a 65-58 win inside Moore Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Wildcats (13-9, 6-4 MEAC) rallied off 14-unanswered during the run to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.
 
The Spartans (11-11, 6-3) led for over 80 percent of the game and did not trail for the first 26 minutes and 53 seconds of action but could not slow down B-CU in the fourth quarter, where the Lady Wildcats outscored NSU 25-16.
 
Bethune-Cookman shot 55.6 percent in the fourth quarter and made 15 free throws on 19 attempts. The Lady Wildcats received a boost from Amaya Scott and Camary Harris in the period as the duo chipped in 14 points and was 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
 
An early 7-0 run in the fourth gave NSU a 49-42 edge with 6:28 remaining, but the Spartans managed only nine more points and were 3-of-11 from the field to close out the game.
 
Back-to-back layups from Chasimmie Brown kickstarted Bethune-Cookman's comeback effort, and her second bucket cut the deficit to 49-46 with 5:26 left on the clock. Brown was a handful throughout the game and finished with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double. Eleven of her 15 points came in the second half, where she was 3-of-4 from the floor.
 
Trailing by just one point, Angel Golden put B-CU ahead for good with her jumper at the 3:39 mark. Scott put the Lady Wildcats up by three on her basket in the paint, and Bethune-Cookman capped its 14-0 run with four foul shots.
 
Two free throws from Dana Echols halted the run, but the Spartans never cut the deficit to fewer than five points. Alexys Long hit a trey with 26 seconds remaining to pull NSU to within five at 63-58, but the Spartans missed their final two attempts from the field.
 
Long ended the game with a team-best 17 points and three 3-pointers. Kendrea Dawkins and La'Deja James joined her in double figures with 14 and 12, respectively. In addition, Dawkins shared the team lead with seven rebounds.
 
Norfolk State led 24-19 at the break following a defensive struggle in the first half. The Spartans limited Bethune-Cookman to 23.1-percent shooting (6-of-26) in the half but managed only 28.6 percent (10-of-35) themselves.
 
Long and Golden dueled in the first, accounting for 23 of the 43 points scored in the half. Long netted 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, and Golden added 11.
 
NSU opened the game on a 6-0 run and led wire-to-wire in the half. Long contributed four of the first six points, and the Spartan defense held the Lady Wildcats scoreless for the first five minutes of the quarter.
 
Golden broke B-CU's scoreless drought with a pair of free throws at the five-minute mark, but the Lady Wildcats did not log their first field goal until Kindell Fincher sunk a 3-pointer with 4:27 to go. Before then, Bethune-Cookman missed its first six shot attempts and turned the ball over four times.
 
The game's defensive tone carried into the second quarter, where neither side shot better than 25 percent. Norfolk State keyed in on Golden in the period, limiting her to four points on 1-of-5 shooting.
 
Bethune-Cookman cut the deficit to three points three times in the second, but the Spartans had an answer each time and entered the intermission up 24-19.
 
James hit a 3-pointer with 3:59 left in the half to push NSU's lead up to six at 19-13. Three minutes later, Long gave the Spartans another six-point advantage with a trey of her own.
 
The Lady Wildcats came alive for the second half, shooting 52.4 percent from the field in the half and hitting three of their six 3-pointers. Golden scored 14 of her game-high 25 in the second.
 
B-CU also enjoyed a sizeable advantage in free throws in the second half, making 21 foul shots on 26 attempts (80.8) to Norfolk State's 7-of-9. For the game, the Lady Wildcats were 26-of-34 from the foul line, while the Spartans managed only eight free throws on 13 attempts.
 
The Lady Wildcats outscored the Spartans 21-18 in the third quarter to grab its first lead of the game. B-CU made half of its shots in the quarter and were 3-of-5 from deep.
 
Dawkins put NSU ahead by seven with 6:26 to go in the quarter before a 13-4 run by the Lady Wildcats. Golden and Brown played the leading roles in the run, combining for 10 points.
 
Golden gave her team its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer at the 3:07 mark, but the advantage would be short-lived. Dawkins tied the game 57 second later, and NSU scored seven of the final 10 points in the quarter.
 
Norfolk State blocked seven shots in the defeat, with five coming from Khadedra Croker.
 
The Spartans look to snap their three-game losing streak on Monday, when they face Florida A&M at 4 p.m.