NORFOLK, Va. -- The Norfolk State women's basketball team is coming off a surprise 57-55 loss to Coppin State this past Monday, and are looking to get back to their winning ways this upcoming weekend down in the Sunshine State.
 
The Spartans (15-9, 9-2 MEAC) travel to Tallahassee on Saturday to face the Florida A&M Rattlers (5-19, 3-10 MEAC), then head down to Daytona on Monday to take on the conference leading Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (19-5, 11-1 MEAC).
 
Series History vs. Rattlers
FAMU is one of the MEAC teams that's had NSU's number since the two teams started playing each other in the 1996-97 season.
 
The Rattlers hold a 24-10 series advantage over the Spartans, but NSU is currently riding a four game winning streak against FAMU. Coach Vickers lost his first two games against the Rattlers, but has won the last four with the Spartans' win streak.
 
The Spartans defeated the Rattlers 59-51 in the last matchup of these teams, on Jan. 27 in Norfolk. La'Deja James dropped 15 points in that game, and added four rebounds and four assists.
 
Scouting the Rattlers
Florida A&M are coming off a 81-71 win over MDES on Monday. After facing the Spartans, the Rattlers head to South Carolina State on Monday.
 
Alaina Rice and Shalaunda Burney-Robison are the leading scorers for FAMU, both averaging around 10 points per game. Rice also leads the team in steals (1.9 spg) and assists (2.5 apg), while Burney-Robinson leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game.
 
Jasmine Ballew is the third leading scorer with 8.5 points, providing a three-point threat for the Rattlers by hitting 33% of her shots from behind the arc.
 
Kailya Jackson is the fourth leading scorer with 7.3 points per game, and is second on the team averaging 1.5 steals per game.
 
A Win over FAMU Would...
End a one-game losing streak for NSU
 
Be the fifth win in a row against the Rattlers.
 
Series History vs. Bethune-Cookman
This will be the 38th meeting between the two teams, and the eighth meeting during coach Vickers' tenure The Wildcats hold a 20-17 series edge over the Spartans. The Spartans defeated the Wildcats 61-51 down in Daytona earlier this season, in the MEAC regular season opener.

The Wildcats defeated the Spartans in last year's MEAC Championship game, earning a 16 seed into the NCAA tournament. They would go on to lose to the number one overall seed Notre Dame, 92-50.

Scouting The Wildcats
The Wildcats' last loss came against the Spartans in the MEAC opener, and they've gone on to win 11-straight since then.

The Wildcats are paced by leading scorer Amaya Scott, who averages 13 points per game to along with a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Scott has gone 123-of-230 this season, shooting 53% from the field.

Daniella Hatcher is the team's second leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. Hatcher leads the team in 3-pt percentage, shooting 39.7% from deep by going 25-of-63.

2017-18 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Ashanti Hunt has returned to court for the Wildcats, after missing all of last season with injury. Hunt is the team's third leading scorer with 7.6 points per game, and is second on the team with 2.25 assists per game.
 
Spartans Fab Five
Chanette Hicks leads the Spartans with 20.7 points per game, 5.0 assists per game and 5.1 steals per game. She leads the MEAC in all three of those categories, and is top 10 in the country in scoring (7th) and steals per game (2nd).
 
La'Deja James completes the Spartans 1-2 punch, averaging 14.0 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. James went off for a career-high 36 points against N.C. Central, which now sits second in NSU's DI record book for the most points in a single game.
 
Blaire Thomas is the third leading scorer for the Spartans, averaging 9.9 points per game. Thomas is heating up as of late. She averaged eight points in the first 14 games, but that number has jumped up to 12.4 points per game in the last 10 outings.
 
Mikaela Jones leads the Spartans in blocks, totaling 30 on the season for 1.3 blocks per game. Jones is averaging 7.1 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. She had her first double-double of the season against S.C. State, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Dana Echols returned to the starting lineup for the Spartans against Coppin State, scoring a season-high eight points to go along with another season-high eight rebounds. Echols is third on the team in assists, averaging 1.7 per game.
 
Pick Your Pocket Hicks
Hicks is second in the nation in steals with 5.1 steals per game. As a team, the Spartans rank fifth nationally averaging 12.3 steals per game.
 
Hicks is one of four players in the country to have more than 10 steals in a game, and she's done it twice already this season.
 
She is also one of 19 players to record a triple-double this season, with 20 points, 14 assists, and 11 steals against Va. Lynchburg on Nov. 14.
 
Hicks is currently second in the NCAA active career leaders, with 400 career steals.
 
1-2 Punch
The Spartans have the top two conference scorers in Hicks (18.8 ppg) and James (18.1 ppg). Hicks has scored at least 30 points three times this season, and James has a 30-point game and three 20-point games. 
 
Spartans That Earned Weekly Honors
Hicks is stealing the limelight in the MEAC this season, winning Player or Co-Player of the Week six out of the 14 times this season. James claimed the award last week following a 27-point performance against Delaware State.
 
Hicks has also won MEAC Defensive player of the week six times, winning both awards more than any other MEAC player this season.
 
Hicks became the sixth different Spartan to earn defensive player of the week honors since the start of the 2016-17 season. In that span, a NSU player has collected the award a total of 22 times.
 
Cam Platt-Morris is another Spartan that has earned a weekly MEAC award, winning Rookie of the Week following a 14 point performance against Delaware State.
 
Best 10-Game Start
The Spartans fell short of a historic 7-0 start against N.C. A&T which would have been NSU's best start since joining the MEAC. With a win over Morgan State this past Saturday,  the Spartans 9-1 conference record marked heir best 10-game start since joining the MEAC.
 
 
NSU By the Numbers
1&2 - The Spartans have the top two scorers during conference play, with Hicks' 18.8 ppg and James' 18.1 ppg.
 
12.3 - Average number of steals the Spartans average per game, which ranks fifth in the country.
 
12.4 - Scoring average for Blaire Thomas in the last 10 games.
 
5.54 - NSU's turnover margin so far this season, which ranks second in the MEAC and 19th in the country.
 
21.92 - The average number of turnovers the Spartans force per game, which is second in the MEAC and eighth in the country.