Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Visiting UNC Wilmington rode a 17-5 edge in second-chance points to a 61-57 win over host Norfolk State on Sunday night at Echols Hall.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 0-7 on the season, while the Seahawks improved to 3-3.
The taller Seahawks held an 18-7 edge in offensive rebounds and turned that into 17 second-chance points. Naqaiyyah Teague and Rebekah Banks led UNCW with 13 points and nine rebounds apiece, and Amber Reeves scored 10 points.
Yazmen Hannah and
Koryn Lawrence scored 12 points each for the Spartans.
NSU started off quickly, hitting 63 percent from the floor (9-of-13) in the first quarter to take a 20-19 lead.
Siobhan Beslow had six points and Hannah five in the first period.
But the Seahawks clamped down defensively in the second quarter, outscoring the Spartans 19-12 to take a 38-32 edge into halftime. NSU connected on just 3-of-13 shots (23 percent) and committed six turnovers in the period. UNCW also grabbed seven offensive boards in the second period alone, leading to six second-chance points.
A fast-break layup by Reeves gave UNCW its first double-digit lead of the second half, 44-34, at the 5:50 mark of the third period. The Spartans later used a 6-0 spurt, capped by a Lawrence jumper, to trim their deficit to 48-44. Reeves answered for UNCW, however, with a jumper in the paint just before the third-period horn to stretch UNCW's lead back to six.
That moment was symbolic of the final period as well, with NSU remaining within striking distance but the Seahawks were able to do just enough to stay out in front.
The Spartans got to within four points several times in the final quarter. A baseline jumper by Lawrence brought NSU within 59-55 with 41 seconds left. Teague missed two free throws at the other end, and the Spartans had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But
Alexys Long missed two challenged shots near the rim and UNCW rebounded.
Jasmine Steele answered with two free throws for the Seahawks, and NSU could get no closer than the final margin.
The Spartans held UNCW to 31.5 percent shoot (23-of-73), worst by an NSU opponent this season. The Seahawks' edge in offensive rebounds, however, led to the guests attempting 18 more field goals than NSU. All told, UNCW held a 47-38 edge on the boards.
The Spartans shot 40 percent from the floor and were also hurt by 23 turnovers.
Long scored a career-high nine points for NSU. Beslow, hampered by early foul trouble, finished with six points but also added nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
NSU returns to action at William & Mary at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.
