NORFOLK, Va. – For Norfolk State women's basketball, the 2018-19 regular season comes down to one final tilt inside Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans (14-14, 9-6 MEAC) host Howard at 5:30 p.m. on a night that promises high drama. Prior to the game, NSU will honor a trio of seniors in Khadedra Croker, Raven Russell and Alexys Long before turning its attention on the Bison (17-11, 10-5) and the first-round bye in the upcoming MEAC Tournament that awaits the winner.
 
A Norfolk State win on Thursday gives the Spartans and Bison identical conference records, but NSU would leapfrog HU for the final bye based on tiebreaking criteria set out by the conference office.
 
The Opening Tip
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.
 
For the game, the Lady Hornets outshot the Spartans at all three levels. 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.
 
A trio of starters contributed 38 points for the Spartans. 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, 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.
 
Norfolk State hit the offensive glass in the second quarter and took 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.
 
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.
 
Delaware State trailed for the first 7:56 of the fourth quarter but outscored the Spartans 11-6 down the stretch to emerge victorious. Lanayjha 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 Danyael Goodhope scored on the next possession to give NSU a 52-51 lead.
 
NaJai Pollard laid it in the next time down the court, and DSU led for the final 1:29. Twice the Spartans cut the Lady Hornets' 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.
 
Sizing up HU
The Bison enjoyed a record-setting afternoon in their last game, a 106-70 win over Savannah State. HU fell a point shy of matching its record for points in a game and set a new single-game mark with 13 made 3-pointers.
 
Howard shot 48.1 percent from deep in that game and enter Thursday as the MEAC's top 3-point shooting team with a 31.2 conversion percentage. Jayla Thornton sank an HU single-game record nine treys last Saturday and ranks 17th nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.2) on 38.9-percent shooting. Additionally, the MEAC named her its player of the week on Tuesday.
 
The Bison pulled down 61 rebounds, 21 offensive, against SSU, with two players logging double-doubles. Howard is formidable on the boards, ranking fifth nationally in rebounding (44.2), and its 16 offensive rebounds per contest are seventh-best across Division I.  
 
An 11-point, 11-rebound double-double with three steals and three blocks earned Imani Bryant MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Bryant ranks seventh in the conference in rebounding (7.8) and has upped her output to 9.4 rebounds against MEAC foes. She is also second to only Croker in blocks per game during the conference season (2.3).
 
Howard and Norfolk State share three common non-conference opponents. The Bison posted a 2-1 record against La Salle, William & Mary and Campbell, while the Spartans were 0-3 against the same field.
 
All-Time Series vs. HU
Thursday marks the 48th all-time meeting between the two sides with the Bison holding a decisive 33-14 edge over the Spartans.
 
Starting with the Spartans' move to the MEAC in 1997-98, NSU dropped 29 of the 34 meetings with HU over a period of 16 years. In that span, the Bison owned winning streaks of 11, seven, five and four games, and Norfolk State never pieced together consecutive victories.
 
HU got the better of NSU in the first game this season, defeating the Spartans 74-70 in the nation's capital. The Bison seized control of the game early and tripped up some in the second quarter before leading the entirety of the second half.
 
The Bison made 33 trips to the foul line in the win, making 23. In 2018-19, no team in Division I earns more free throws than Howard.
 
Four Spartans scored in double figures in the loss, led by Russell and James' 16 points. Russell shot 50 percent from the floor with three treys, three rebounds and two steals. James came off the bench for her 16 and had five rebounds and two assists.
 
Head coach Larry Vickers is 2-3 all-time against Howard. HU's Ty Grace is 3-2 versus the Spartans.
 
NSU vs. the MEAC
Norfolk State concludes its 22nd season of MEAC competition on Thursday. 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 144-221 (.386) 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 notched its ninth conference victory against Morgan State on Feb. 23 and will turn in three-straight winning conference records for the first time since its run of seven straight in the CIAA from 1990 to 1997.
 
The Spartans are 188-211 (.471) 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 (22-16), North Carolina Central (21-7) and Savannah State (9-7).
 
Vickers owns a 32-25 (.561) record in MEAC play and is 29-18 (.617) since his first full season in 2016-17. Vickers has a winning record against South Carolina State (5-1), Delaware State (4-2), Savannah State (4-3), North Carolina Central (3-0), Maryland Eastern Shore (3-1) and Florida A&M (3-2).
 
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 18th in scoring defense (55.6), 21st in field goal percentage defense (35.9) and ninth in opponent 3-point percentage (26.5).
 
At the conference level, the Spartans rank first in scoring defense since the 2016-17 season, allowing 56.6 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 (5.8) 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  scoring defense (55.6), field goal percentage (39.6) and defensive 3-point field goal percentage (26.5).
 
In addition, the Spartans rank second in program history in assists per game (14.0), third in defensive field goal percentage (35.9) and in 3-point field goals (136), are fifth in total blocks (113), blocks per game (4.0) and in free throw percentage (67.3) and rank seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (29.2).
 
Several Spartans are on track to enter into the D-I single-season record book as well. Long is tied for seventh in 3-point percentage (33.3) and 11th in made treys (41). Dana Echols' mark of 4.9 assists per game ranks fourth, and she is tied for fourth in single-season assists (133). Croker is fourth in blocks per game (2.2) and is fifth in total blocks (55), and James is sixth in steals per game (2.4), eighth in free throw percentage (80.7), and 15th in scoring average (12.2). Lastly, De'Janaire Deas ranks 15th in field goal percentage (46.0).
 
At the career level, Croker continues to climb the total blocks ledger and is second with 148. She also ranks first in blocks per game with 2.8.
 
Long's 3-point shooting percentage of 37.3 is currently second all-time in NSU history, and her 123 made treys are the fourth most. The senior sharpshooter is also seventh in all-time 3-point attempts with 330.
 
Russell currently ranks 20th in all-time scoring average at 11.1 points per game. She also ranks 15th in field goal percentage (45.4) and is 16th in career 3-point field goal shooting (28.5).
 
What's Next?
Thursday's results dictate Norfolk State's path through the conference tournament bracket. If the Spartans lose, they received the fifth seed and will play Florida A&M in the first round on Monday at 1 p.m.
 
A victory over Howard ensures a first-round bye for NSU. The Spartans can move up as high as the No. 3 seed should Bethune-Cookman lose to Florida A&M. The third seed plays its first game on Thursday at noon. If B-CU defeats FAMU, then NSU would receive the fourth seed and play at 2 p.m. on Thursday.