Norfolk, Va. – Mahoganie Williams' third double-double of the season paved the way for a 76-31 victory on Monday at Delaware State. Williams set career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (12), adding four blocks as well.
Janay Turner led the Spartans in scoring with a career-high 20 points.
Williams opened the game with and and-one on the first possession, making the right-handed hook shot through a foul. She converted the free throw, but the rest of the Spartans struggled to find the bottom of the hoop in the first quarter. The team didn't make any of its six 3-point attempts in the opening period, shooting 6-of-19 from the field.
DSU forward Unique Miller kept the Hornets within striking distance in the first quarter, scoring six of her team's eight points. Miller led DSU for the day, scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds.
NSU did the bulk of its damage in the second quarter, specifically the final five minutes. NSU went on a 18-4 run to end the half, fueled by 3-pointers from
Niya Fields and Turner. Williams scored a few more baskets in the paint as well, giving her a team-high nine points at the break. NSU led 38-14 at the end of the first half.
The Spartans continued their defensive dominance in the third quarter, holding the Hornets to ten points and forcing five turnovers in the period. Turner got the Spartans going on the offensive end with a 3-pointer, and
Deja Francis began to heat up from mid-range.
Crystal White scored off an offensive rebound late in the third quarter, and put another two points on the board seconds later when Fields found her on the fast break. Fields finished with eight assists, tying her career high.
NSU kept the speed up, with
Janay Turner getting a steal to start the fourth quarter and dishing to Turner for an easy layup. Turner hit another 3-pointer a couple of minutes later, but she wasn't done yet. Just two days after setting a career-high with 17 points against Maryland Eastern Shore, Turner knocked down her fourth triple of the game, for a new career-best 20 points.
Lacee Savage tallied her first points of the day with under three minutes remaining, the last score of the day for the Spartans. NSU finished 33-of-75 from the field (44%), scoring 76 points despite shooting a season-low seven free throws.
Not only did the Spartans hold the Hornets to 31 points, the least allowed by an NSU opponent this season, but they gathered 60 rebounds, tying their season-high. The impressive night on the boards more than doubled the amount of rebounds the Spartans pulled in their first meeting with the Hornets.
After playing five games in the last ten days, NSU finally receives some time off. The Spartans won't play again until the weekend, when they travel to Baltimore, Md. for a matchup with Coppin State on Saturday and Morgan State on Monday.
