NSU hangs tough early, but falls
Spartans couldn’t get shots to drop in key second quarter
STANFORD, Calif. — Norfolk State’s defense flustered Stanford. But by the time the Spartans finally got settled on offense, the margin was too much to overcome.
The 15th-seeded Spartans (27-6) were held to 19 first-half points in a 79-50 loss to No. 2 Stanford late Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Maples Pavilion.
MEAC Player of the Year Kierra Wheeler had 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and MEAC Newcomer of the Year Diamond Johnson had 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals, but the fifth-ranked Cardinal (29-5) made both players work hard for their shots.
Wheeler went 8 for 23 from the field and had five shots blocked, while Johnson shot 7 for 24 and missed all eight of her 3-point attempts.
“We were defending well, we just had a hard time putting the ball in the basket,” Wheeler said. “It was really us not scoring the ball that separated us, not our defense. (Our defense) was very physical and we were really rotating well. The ball not falling for us was our big problem in the second quarter.”
Spartans coach Larry Vickers said he regretted playing Johnson
(36 minutes) and Wheeler (34 minutes) so much instead of using his regular substitution pattern. Johnson had cramps in both of her legs in the fourth quarter, but returned to the game after taking a salt packet.
The Spartans only trailed 15-12 after the first quarter, but Stanford scored the first 11 points in the second quarter. Wheeler’s layup with 2:48 to play was the first field goal of the quarter for the Spartans, who shot 29% in the first half.
“Our pace was sped up, and we had to make different reads,” Wheeler said. “I think it was really just us trying to get settled into the court and to the environment.”
Stanford led 32-19 at halftime and was up by at least 20 for the entire fourth quarter.
“We had to work really hard to get this win,” said Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in college basketball history.
The Spartans were appearing in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time and were riding a 15-game winning streak. They lost to No. 1 South Carolina 72-40 last season in the round of 64.
Norfolk State’s press and 3-2 zone forced 14 turnovers, but it wasn’t enough to make up for a 45-35 rebounding disadvantage against the taller Cardinal.
Senior 6-foot-4 center Cameron Brink, who is expected to be the No. 2 player selected in the 2024 WNBA draft, had 17 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.
Despite the result, Wheeler was proud to be on the first Spartans team to win back-to-back MEAC titles.
“It was not easy for us, despite our record,” Wheeler said. “We had to work for it. There was a lot of anticipation from last year because of the success we had. When we knew the standards that were going to be put on us, we put in a lot of work and determination.”
In order for the Spartans to take the next step and be more competitive in the NCAA Tournament, it will need to do better in the non-conference schedule against high-major opponents in order to get a 12 or 13 seed.
Johnson missed the first 10 games this season while waiting for her transfer to Norfolk State to be completed, which included losses to Wake Forest and Minnesota and might have hurt NSU’s seed.
Johnson had transferred from N.C. State, where she advanced to the Elite Eight in the 202223
season. Vickers hopes that more players like Johnson will be inspired to come to Norfolk after seeing the Spartans play on the national stage.
“As we build our brand, we want to be known as more than just a HBCU school,” Vickers said. “We want to build our brand and work hard and do things the right way and hope that recruits will continue to see what we do, love it and then come join us.”