Spartans avenge lone MEAC loss, extend win streak to 12
NORFOLK — Norfolk State’s women’s basketball team ended its regular season with a 59-53 win over Howard on Thursday night at Echols Hall.
The victory extends the Spartans’ win streak to 12 games going into the MEAC Tournament and avenges their lone conference loss this season. Howard topped NSU 73-60 on Jan. 20 in Washington.
“I’m super-proud, 24-5 (overall), that’s an amazing win percentage,” NSU coach Larry Vickers said. “Then 13-1 in conference, 12 in a row now, I think, at this point. So you know offensively, we want to do little things better going into next week. But defensively, we’re rolling at the right time. It’s probably the best defense that we played all year and I think that kind of led to our winning.”
The Bison got out to a good start, leading Norfolk State 14-13 after the first quarter. The Spartans’ patented defense stepped up in the second quarter and helped them get back in control.
Howard (13-15, 10-4) made just one shot in the second quarter, and Norfolk State’s defense held the Bison to a 10% shooting clip. The Spartans also improved on offense in the second quarter, shooting nearly 50% from the field and outscoring Howard 17-5 to take a 30-19 halftime lead.
Howard opened the second half with a 10-0 run to get within one point. The Bison shot 54.5% in the third quarter, but Norfolk State was able to keep the Bison at arm’s length for a majority of the quarter. Freshman Anjanae Richardson hit some big shots in the third quarter to keep NSU out in front and ended with 11 points. Kierra Wheeler led the Spartans with 14 points and also had four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The Bison continued to stay close deep into the fourth quarter, thanks to some transition buckets and strong shooting. They shot 53.8% in the fourth quarter and outrebounded Norfolk State 42-25 for the game. Despite Howard’s second-half improvements, Norfolk State was still able to stay on top.
Da’naijah Williams made the most of her senior night at Echols Hall. The Brooklyn native was all over the place on Thursday, finishing with a career-high 10 points as well as two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“Today, this game was personal because last game we lost to them,” Williams said.
Norfolk State will start its quest for another MEAC championship next week when the conference tournament begins Wednesday at Scope.