NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball team plays its final home game of the calendar year on Thursday when UNCW comes to Echols Hall for a 6 p.m. contest. The game will be broadcast live on 91.1 FM The Soul of VA and streamed at NSUSpartans.com/Watch.

The Spartans (3-6) return to their home floor following a 76-47 loss at Old Dominion on Sunday at Chartway Arena. NSU held the Monarchs to seven first-quarter points, but the Monarchs pulled away by shooting 61.5 percent in the second half.

NSU forced 31 ODU turnovers in the game, 18 coming via steals. MEAC Defensive Player of the Week Camille Downs had six of those. NSU was led by Mahoganie Williams' 15 points, and Downs chipped in 10.

UNCW (2-5) has had 15 days off since its last game, a 55-48 win at Winthrop on Dec. 1. Sierra DaCosta scored 15 points to pace UNCW, which outscored Winthrop 14-1 from the free-throw line.

The Spartans still have three games remaining this month after Thursday: a road contest at William & Mary on Sunday, and two games in the St. Joseph's Hawk Invitational on Dec. 28-29.

NSU-UNCW Tip-Ins 

• NSU's 18 steals were the most by a Spartan team since NSU also notched 18 at North Carolina Central on March 4 in Durham. 
• NSU now ranks 46th nationally with 10.8 steals per game. Downs leads the way with 2.0, good for fifth in the MEAC. 
• Downs won NSU's second straight MEAC Defensive Player of the Week award. Williams won it the week prior. 
• Downs will be playing against her former team Thursday. She averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last year for the Seahawks, with a season-high 21 points against Norfolk State of all teams.  
• Downs enters the game against her former team having scored in double figures in five straight games. 
• Williams is also playing her best basketball of the season. She has 33 points in her last two games (16.5 average), her best two-game stretch of the year. She is shooting 15-of-30 in the last two games, which includes a career-high 18 point outing in the win at George Mason. 
• UNCW holds a 5-0 series edge against the Spartans, including a 67-47 win to open the 2020-21 season. 
• DaCosta is the Seahawks' leading scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game. Carrie Gross is next at 11.7. 
• UNCW was picked to finish ninth in the CAA in the league's preseason poll. 
• UNCW is coached by Karen Barefoot, the former Christopher Newport All-American who coached in the 757 area at Apprentice and later Old Dominion before joining the Seahawks.