NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball team returns to Echols Hall for a thee-game homestand, starting with Delaware State on Saturday at 4 p.m. NSU is idle on Monday, its last off day for the rest of the season.
 
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
As the first-place team in the conference, the Spartans (13-8, 7-1 MEAC) always get the best effort from their opponents trying to take down the top dog. The Spartans fell short of a historic start 7-0 in this year's MEAC campaign last Saturday against N.C. A&T, losing to the Aggies 53-39 in their first conference loss of the season.

Last Time Out
The Spartans would rebound on Monday against N.C. Central in dramatic fashion, coming back for an 83-75 win. Down 30-13 after the first quarter, the Spartans stormed back by outscoring the Eagles 51-33 in the second half.
  
National Rankings
As a team, the Spartans rank top ten in the country in steals per game and turnovers forced per game. NSU's 12.6 steals per game ranks fourth in the country, and their 22.6 turnovers forced per game ranks fifth in the country.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon and Woube Gebre on the call. The audio feed is available through www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App (search for "WNSB").

Fans can also follow along with the live stats and the live video feed. The live video feed also carries the radio broadcast.
 
Series History vs. Delaware State
This will be the 47th time these two teams have met since 1980, and will be the seventh time in the Larry Vickers' era. The series has been very even, with the Hornets holding a slight 24-22 series advantage over the Spartans.
 
The Eagles defeated the Spartans 59-56 in the last matchup between these teams. La'Deja James had 12 points in that game.
 
A Win over the Hornets Would...
Snap a one-game losing streak against DSU.
 
Be NSU's fifth win in the past six contests against the Hornets.
 
Scouting the Hornets
Delaware State (9-11, 5-2 MEAC) is coming off of a 72-58 win over MDES, and a 72-55 win over Coppin State in the game prior. The Hornets are riding a two-game winning streak and have won five out of seven since conference play has started.
 
The Hornets are paced by Sharajah Collins, who leads the team with 13.1 points per game, 2.3 assists per game and 1.6 steals per game.
 
Lyric Turner is the Hornets' second leading scorer with 12.1 points per game. She is the main deep threat for DSU, going 45-of-146 from deep for a 30.8% three-point field goal percentage.
 
Lanayjha Ashe is the third leading scorer for DSU, averaging 9.1 points per game. Ashe also provides another deep threat for the Hornets, going 26-of-80 to convert 32.5% of her three-point shots.
 
Tierra Floyd is the Hornets' fourth leading scorer with 6.9 points per game, while leading the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
 
NSU's Fab Five
Chanette Hicks leads the Spartans with 21.2 points per game, 5.2 assists per game and 5.2 steals per game. She leads the MEAC in all three of those categories, and is top 10 in the country in scoring (7th), steals per game (2nd) and field goals made (3rd).
 
La'Deja James completes the Spartans 1-2 punch, averaging 13 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. James went off for a career-high 36 points last game at N.C. Central, which now sits second in NSU's D-I record book for the most points in a single game.
 
Blaire Thomas is the third leading scorer in double-figures for the Spartans, averaging 10 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 13.7 points per game in the last seven outings.

Mikaela Jones leads the Spartans in blocks, totaling 30 on the season for 1.4 blocks per game. Jones is averaging 7.1 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. She had her first double-double of the seaspn 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.

Role Players

Shekinah Howard had a huge presence off the bench in the Spartans' last game at N.C. Central, going 3-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown to score 11 points. 

Ta'Liyah Edmonds played just nine minutes in the second half of that game, but had a huge impact defensively in the paint leading the team with a 14 +/-.

Armani Franklin can provide energy off the bench on both offense and defense. Offensively, Franklin averages 5.2 points per game with just over one assist per game. On the defensive end, she averages 2.2 rebounds and is second on the team with 1.9 steals per game.

De'Janaire Deas is the longest tenured Spartan on the team, playing with NSU all four years of her collegiate career. Deas averages 3.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 1.1 blocks per game. 

 
NSU By the Numbers
22.6 - The amount of turnovers that opponents average against the Spartans, which ranks fifth in the country.
 
21.6 - Average number of points off turnovers the Spartans score per game.
 
12.6- The number of steals the Spartans average per game, which ranks first in the MEAC and fourth in the country.
 
171 - The number of field goals Chanette Hicks has made so far this season, which ranks first in the MEAC and third in the country.
 
1 - Amount of triple-doubles Hicks has had this season, coming against VUL on Nov. 14.