No top scorer? No problem.
With Downs injured, Spartans step up defensively in a rout
NORFOLK — No. 1-seeded Norfolk State cruised by South Carolina State in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament.
The Spartans beat the No. 8 seed Bulldogs 61-37 on Wednesday
afternoon at Scope.
Norfolk State didn’t appear to break a sweat, showcasing why the Spartans were the MEAC regular-season champs and are the favorite to win the tournament.
“[A] 12 o’clock start, that was a little early for us,” Norfolk State coach Larry Vickers joked. “I felt like some of my players were a little sleepy in the beginning. But after that first meeting I thought we did a good job settling down.”
Sophomore forward Kierra Wheeler stepped up big in the absence of Norfolk’s usual star, Camille Downs. Wheeler came into the game as the Spartans’ third-leading scorer, averaging just 10 points a game. Her team-leading 21 points, along with 10 rebounds, gave her a double-double in her first MEAC Tournament game.
“It felt good,” Wheeler said. “My teammates reminded me to play hard all the time and to keep our environment good, and it’s good to have fun.”
Downs led the Spartans in scoring during the regular season and was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, and she earned nods to the All-MEAC first team and all-defensive team.
Vickers didn’t disclose the specifics of Downs’ injury, and her status for the remainder of the tournament is in question.
“Well, that’s up to the training staff,” Vickers said. “They’ve been working with her. She’s been shooting, so hopefully she’ll be able to practice tomorrow.”
Despite being without Downs,
the Spartans defense kept the Bulldogs in check. Norfolk State forced South Carolina State into 24 turnovers, six of which where shot-clock violations, and limited the Bulldogs to just 32% shooting.
South Carolina State never led and managed to tie the game only once during the second quarter at 9.
“That South Carolina State team has posed some different issues in the league with just their zone,” Vickers said. “Their zone has bothered several teams and I felt like it really bothered us.
“But as soon as we settled down and played a little harder with more energy, we showed why we were the better team.”
Norfolk State beat S.C. State for the third time this season, and Vickers said the familiarity aided in the result of Round 3.
“One of my assistants in her pregame speech, she talked about how tough it is to beat a team three times,” Vickers said. “The only good thing about seeing the team two times, and going into a third, is generally you got a feel for their offense. … Once you see a team three times, [you] kind of get used to them on offense, and you know we do a pretty good job in our zone.”
NSU will play a noon semifinal Friday against either No. 4 North Carolina Central or No. 5 Coppin State.
With their tournament legs now under them, sophomore guard Niya Fields is confident in the Spartans’ tourney chances.
“This is my third time coming to this tournament, so I already know how to lock in and focus for the first game,” Fields said. “You get your little jitters out, but I think we’re ready to move forward, and then on Friday we’ll be good.”