NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State University women's basketball team (4-8, 3-5 MEAC South) opens play in the 2021 MEAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed from the conference's Southern Division in a noon quarterfinal on Thursday, March 11 vs. North No. 3 seed Coppin State (2-12, 2-10 MEAC North). 

The Spartans closed the regular season winning two of their final three games to edge out North Carolina Central for the second seed from the South. NSU will be looking for its second MEAC Tournament championship of all time, and first since 2002.

All tournament quarterfinal and semifinal games will be broadcast on FloHoops, while the championship can be seen live on ESPN3 and tape-delayed on Sunday, March 14 on ESPNU. All NSU games will also be broadcast on WNSB Blazin' Hot 91.1 FM.

Last Time Out
The Spartans closed the season with a 65-61 loss to North Carolina Central on March 4 in Durham. NSU, which had just seven players in uniform, saw that cut to three on the floor after four players fouled out in the fourth quarter. NCCU scored its final 10 points from the free-throw line to top NSU.

That result was not of any consequence in the final standings, however, after the Spartans' dominant 83-64 win over the Eagles the day before (March 3). NSU forced NCCU into 34 turnovers, 20 a result of NSU steals, and had four players in double figures in the win which clinched the South's second seed for the Spartans.

Scouting Coppin State
Coppin State received the North No. 3 seed after Delaware State, which was in third place, could not finish the season due to COVID-19 issues. The Eagles went 2-12 on the season, 2-10 in the North, and lost their last four games of the year. Aliyah Lawson (14.4 ppg) was a second-team All-MEAC pick and Jalynda Salley (9.5ppg, 8.9 rpg) was a third-team choice.

Holmes, Ngandjui Named to All-MEAC Team
Former high school teammates Jalynn Holmes and Mangela Ngandjui were both named to the All-MEAC second team following the regular season. Ngandjui was also voted to the inaugural All-Defensive Team.
• Holmes leads NSU and ranks eighth in the MEAC in scoring, at 12.9 points per game. She also ranks fourth in the MEAC with 2.2 steals per game, and fifth in 3-pointers made. She led NSU in scoring six times with a career-high 23 vs. Salem (W.Va.).
• Ngandjui ranks third in the MEAC with 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game, both of which lead the Spartans. She also leads the conference in 3-point percentage (35.5) and averages 11.3 points per game, second-best on the team.
• The two were teammates at Riverdale Baptist in Maryland, before Ngandjui enrolled at UNC Greensboro and Holmes at Towson. Both transferred to NSU but sat out the 2019-20 season.

Money Mani
Senior guard Armani Franklin has played the best basketball of her career as of late.
• Franklin enters the tournament on a career-best streak of four straight games scoring in double figures. She had a career-high 19 in the win at NCCU on March 3.
• Franklin earned MEAC Player of the Week honors after averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two games against N.C. A&T on Feb. 20-21.
• Franklin is now averaging a career-best 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while playing her characteristic stingy defense.

Shine Bright
Coach Larry Vickers expected sophomore Central Michigan transfer forward Shine Strickland-Gills to be a defensive force, and that has come to pass in recent games.
• Strickland-Gills had a career-best 10 rebounds and tied her career high with three blocks in the win at N.C. Central on March 3. Strickland-Gills had four steals in both games in Durham.
• Strickland-Gills earned the first two starts of her career in the games with N.C. A&T. She tallied 17 total rebounds while also chipping in 14 points in the two games. Strickland-Gills blocked three shots in the win over the Aggies on Feb. 21.
• She is now averaging 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as a Spartan.

Tournament History
NSU has an even 20-20 all-time record in the MEAC Tournament entering this year's edition. The Spartans won their only game of last year's tourney vs. Howard by 31 points, the biggest margin for any MEAC Tournament win in school history, and were the highest remaining seed when the tournament was stopped by COVID-19.

NSU's lone MEAC tourney title came in 2002. The Spartans have been to the final three other times: 2000, 2005 and 2019.