DOVER, Del. – Delaware State shot 53.8 percent in the fourth quarter to erase a seven-point third-quarter deficit and hand Norfolk State its second-straight loss with a 59-56 result on Monday evening inside Memorial Hall.
 
For the game, the Lady Hornets (7-19, 5-10 MEAC) outshot the Spartans (14-14, 9-6) at all three levels to send their seniors out with a win in their final home contest. DSU made 46.3-percent of its shots, was 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from the 3-point arc and missed just one of its 14 shots at the foul line. Norfolk State, on the other hand, was 36.7 percent from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from deep.
 
NaJai Pollard and Lanayjha Ashe combined for 38 of the Lady Hornets' 59 points. Pollard scored 21 on 7-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Ashe came on strong in the fourth quarter to finish with 17 points, six assists, three steals and three treys.
 
A trio of starters contributed 38 points for the Spartans. Khadedra Croker led all with 14 points and had six rebounds, two steals and NSU's lone block. La'Deja James added 12 points, matched the game high with nine rebounds and recorded a game-best four steals. Lastly, Raven Russell scored 12 points with four rebounds and three steals.
 
Unable to match the Lady Hornets' shooting proficiency, the Spartans crashed the boards to stay in the game. Norfolk State outrebounded Delaware State 40-19 and had a 19-2 advantage in offensive boards. James collected six offensive rebounds, and three other Spartans had two or more offensive boards.
 
Delaware State made half of its attempts in the first quarter and jumped out to an 18-13 lead. The Spartans started the game strongly, and a Russell trey put NSU ahead 7-2 inside the first four minutes.
 
Pollard netted eight of DSU's last 11 points of the first as the Lady Hornets closed out the period on a 7-2 run. The Spartans scored just six points in the final 6:28 and missed 11 of their last 13 shot attempts.
 
Norfolk State hit the offensive boards in the second quarter, reversing its fortunes and taking a 32-29 lead into the locker room. The Spartans corralled six of their eight missed field goal attempts in the period, held an 8-2 edge in second-chance points and were plus-10 in points in the paint.
 
The Spartans also clamped down on Pollard in the quarter, holding her to no points and no shot attempts in 10 full minutes of play.
 
Treys from James and Kendrea Dawkins quickly cut a 20-13 deficit to a single point and keyed a 13-0 run for the Spartans. During the run, Norfolk State held the Lady Hornets scoreless for five minutes and 23 seconds and built a 26-20 lead with 5:55 left to play.
 
NSU made three treys in the second quarter and shot 4-of-9 from deep in the opening half. The Spartans did not make a long-range shot after intermission, missing all six of their tries from 3-point range.
 
Both sides started the second half slowly, and the third quarter saw a combined 17 points scored with both sides shooting 25 percent from the floor.
 
After a pair of Pollard foul shots cut NSU's lead to 32-31, the Spartans pieced together a 6-0 run spanning 5:26 to build a 38-31 lead.
 
Much of that run was undone in the final 81 seconds of the quarter as the Lady Hornets closed on a 7-2 run. Keke Barber followed two Pollard foul shots with a 3-pointer to make the score 38-36 with 58 seconds remaining. Danyael Goodhope scored on a layup on the next possession, but Pollard struck last with a basket at the 18-second mark.
 
Delaware State trailed for the first 7:56 of the fourth quarter but outscored the Spartans 11-6 down the stretch to emerge victorious.
 
Ashe scored six points in the final 2:04 and had 14 on 4-of-5 shooting with two treys in the fourth quarter. Her trey at the 2:04 mark gave the Lady Hornets their first lead in 25:50, but the lead was-short lived as Goodhope scored on the next possession to give NSU a 52-51 lead.
 
Pollard laid it in the next time down the court, and DSU led for the final 1:29. Twice the Spartans cut the Lady Hornet lead to a single point, but each time Ashe answered with a pair of free throws. Her final foul shots put Delaware State ahead 59-56 with only four seconds remaining, and the Spartans could not connect on their heave at the end of the game.
 
Norfolk State caps the 2018-19 regular season on Thursday against Howard at 5:30 p.m. Before the game, the Spartans will honor three seniors in Croker, Russell and Alexys Long.