WASHINGTON D.C. --- The Norfolk State women's basketball team held off a fourth-quarter run from Saint Louis, defeating the Billikens 75-66 at the Coaches vs. Racism Roundball Classic on Saturday morning.
 
Graduate guard Diamond Johnson led the Spartans in scoring with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. She also brought in eight rebounds, six assists, and six steals in the win.
 
Senior forward Kierra Wheeler posted her fourth double-double of the season, recording 22 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Norfolk State opened the contest on a 10-2 run, capped off with a 3-pointer. SLU came out of the media timeout with a 5-0 run, cutting the NSU lead to a single point with 3:39 remaining in the quarter.
 
Back-to-back baskets from Ajnanae Richardson and Johnson brought the Norfolk State lead back up to five. Ciara Bailey made a layup, got fouled, and sank the free throw, giving NSU the 21 -13 advantage heading into the second quarter.
 
Makoye Diawara got the Spartans going in the second quarter, following a dish from Da'Brya Clark leading to a layup. Johnson continued her hot shooting day, sinking a pair of layups and a 3-pointer, pushing NSU ahead by 16 with 3:58 left in the half.
 
Johnson expanded the NSU lead to 40-22 with 3:09 remaining in the half, following a steal from Wheeler that led to a fastbreak layup. Brooklyn Gray hit a 3-pointer, trimming the Spartans' lead to 14 points before Clark hit a free throw to take a 15-point advantage into the locker room.
 
Norfolk State began the second half with a Diawara layup and Clark 3-pointer, extending the Spartans' lead to 20 points. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Mia Bergstrom and a layup from Kennedy Calhoun trimmed the NSU advantage down to 51-39, forcing a Spartans timeout.
 
Wheeler scored eight of the next 10 points for NSU, bringing the lead back to 18 points with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. The Billikens nailed a pair of free throws right before the end of the quarter, cutting the Spartans' advantage to 16.
 
The Billikens opened the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run, trimming the Spartans' lead back down to single digits for the first time since the first quarter. A pair of Johnson free throws stopped the SLU run, giving NSU a 70-61 edge with 3:35 left to play in the contest.
 
Johnson drained a jumper with 1:30 remaining, extending the NSU advantage back up to double digits. Bergstrom answered back for the Billikens, making a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining. Diawara put the game away, hitting 1-of-2 free throws giving NSU the 75-66 win over SLU.
 
 
Checking the Box Score

• Diamond Johnson led Norfolk State in scoring with 23 points
• Kierra Wheeler posted a season-high 22 points
• NSU shot 11-of-17 from the floor in the second quarter (64.71 percent)
• Norfolk State never trailed in the contest, with the score only being tied once
• The Spartans had 14 steals to the Billikens' 9 steals
• Diamond Johnson was 8-of-8 from the floor in the first half with 17 points

 
News & Notes

• Norfolk State improves to 8-3
• Saint Louis falls to 3-7
• Norfolk State now leads the all-time series 1-0
• Diamond Johnson has led NSU in scoring for 10-of-11 games this season
• No one from the Spartans has fouled out of a contest this season
• NSU made 30 field goals for the first time since Feb. 17, 2024

 
Up Next
Norfolk State returns to Echols Hall at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12 against Shaw for education day
 
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