NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team outscored Howard 9-0 in overtime, coming away with a 69-60 win over the Bison at Echols Hall on Saturday evening.  Six seniors on NSU went out in style in the last home game of their careers.

Graduate Senior Blaire Thomas drained a three-pointer in the first possession of overtime, and the Spartans (17-10, 11-3 MEAC) never looked back. Thomas scored five points in overtime, and along with Mikaela Jones' four points, the pair combined for all of NSU's nine points in OT. The Spartans held Howard (14-13, 6-8 MEAC) to a scoreless overtime period, with the Bison going 0-of-5 from the field.

The Spartans headed into the final period of regulation down 50-48. The Bison held their lead for most of the fourth quarter, until a layup by Jones put the Spartans up 59-58 with 36 seconds remaining. Following an empty possession, the Bison put Armani Franklin to the foul-line to stop the clock with 18 seconds left in the game. Franklin converted on one of the two free throws, giving the Bison a chance to at least tie the game. Howard's Ayonna Williams was able to drive to the paint and draw a foul, converting both free throws and sending the game to overtime tied at 60-60.

Down 29-27, the Bison started the second half on an 11-2 run that gave them a 38-31 lead two minutes in the half. The Bison also started getting to the foul-line more often to start the second half, with six of their 16 made free-throws in the third quarter. The Spartans closed the third quarter on an 8-3 run in the last 3:34 to head into the final quarter down 50-48.

The Spartans started the first period on fire, outscoring the Bison 22-12 while shooting 9-of-14 (64.3%). La'Deja James jump-started the Spartans' offense, scoring eight of her 12 points in the first quarter.  The Bison coughed up the ball early with six turnovers, with the Spartans taking advantage of nine points off turnovers in the opening period.

The Spartan seniors played a big part of the win on senior day. Chanette Hicks scored 20 points along with four assists and seven steals. James added 12 points and four rebounds, while Jones finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Thomas also scored in double-figures with 11 points, while adding eight rebounds. As a team the Spartans went 26-of-72 (36.1%) from the floor compared to the Bison's 20-of-60 (33.3%). The Spartans had 14 steals, with the Bison turning the ball over 29 times. The Spartans took advantage of 29 points off turnovers.

The Spartans head to Dover to take on Delaware State on Monday at 5:30 p.m.