BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Norfolk State women's basketball led for the final 33 minutes and 34 seconds in a complete-game, 66-53 win over Liberty in the consolation game of the Christmas City Classic in Lehigh's Stabler Arena.
 
NSU (3-4) was incredibly balanced in the victory with six players scoring eight or more points. Five Spartans broke the double-digit barrier, led by a pair of former junior college teammates. Raven Russell and Dana Echols both shared the game-high with 13 points.
 
Russell made six of her 10 shots from the field and tacked on a pair of assists and rebounds each. Echols flexed her scoring chops, setting a season-high in points. The Auburn, Alabama native dished out a game-high seven assists and grabbed six rebounds as well.
 
Despite being out-shot by the Flames (1-5), 43.8 to 40.8 percent, the Spartans carried the day on the strength of their foul shooting. NSU made 26 trips to the line on Sunday and made 21 (80.8 percent). Khadedra Croker converted on seven of her eight foul shots as part of a season-high 11 points. La'Deja James hit six shots at the charity stripe, and Echols did not miss any of her five attempts.
 
A day removed from a flat start against Lehigh, the Spartans were the aggressors in the early goings, jumping out to an 8-2 lead.
 
NSU hunted 3-pointers early, and a pair of treys from Russell and Alexys Long put NSU ahead 6-2 inside the first three minutes of the game.
 
Long regained her range in the game, snapping a streak of three-straight games without a 3-pointer. The senior made two of her three shots from behind the arc on Sunday after going 0-for-11 in her last three games.
 
The Flames' lone lead in the game came with 4:01 left in the quarter. Trailing 11-9, Ria Gulley hit a 3-pointer to put LU ahead by a point. Liberty's lead lasted less than 30 seconds as the Spartans went on a 6-0 run. De'Janaire Deas accounted for four of NSU's six points in the span, and her second layup gave the Spartans a 17-12 lead with 2:13 remaining.
 
Deas gave her team a lift off the bench, scoring 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbing five rebounds.
 
Up 20-15 after the first 10 minutes, Norfolk State went ahead by 12 following a 9-2 run to start the second quarter. Echols scored five early points for the Spartans. After being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer, Echols drained three free throws to give her team a 29-17 lead with 5:33 remaining in the half.
 
NSU scored more than half of its second-quarter points at the free throw line, going a perfect 11-for-11 on foul shots in the frame. Echols was immaculate in the quarter – scoring 10 points on two-of-two shooting, making all five free throws and not committing a turnover.
 
The Spartans' largest lead of the game came with 1:17 left in the half. Long's second 3-pointer of the game pushed NSU ahead by 15, 39-24.
 
Liberty gave NSU its best test in the third quarter, out-scoring the Spartans 14-9 and twice cutting the deficit to seven points. The Flames scored the first five points of the period on an Ashtyn Baker layup and KK Barbour 3-pointer.
 
Baker turned in a team-high 12 points for LU and made five of her six shots.
 
The NSU lead stayed in double figures for the last 6:25 of the contest as the Spartans closed out the game.
 
James put Norfolk State on top 58-48 at the 6:25 mark with her final basket of the game. The Virginia Beach native scored 10 points and recorded seven steals, which is tied for the sixth-most in program history.
 
After averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 steals across two games, James was named to the Christmas City Classic All-Tournament team.
 
After failing to score 20 points in the first half of their past two games, the Spartans scored at least 20 in both the first and second quarters. NSU was markedly improved from 3-point range in the contest, shooting 27.8 percent from deep after shooting 15.4 percent in its last two games combined.
 
The Spartans break until Dec. 9, when they travel to La Salle for a 1 p.m. tilt.