NORFOLK, Va. – With its final three regular season games all coming within a span of six days, the light at the end of the tunnel that is the 2018-19 regular season is quickly approaching for Norfolk State women's basketball. The Spartans (14-12, 9-4 MEAC) host Coppin State on Saturday at 4 p.m. before hitting the road to face Delaware State on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in their final away game.
 
The Opening Tip
Norfolk State put in its work early, outscoring Morgan State 36-11 in the first half, before weathering a second-half surge by the Lady Bears in Saturday's 64-49 win inside Hill Field House.
 
The win clinched a winning record in MEAC play for the Spartans, marking the third-consecutive season that NSU will finish conference play above .500. The Spartans had never before posted a winning record in three-straight MEAC seasons and have not strung together three or more winning conference seasons in a row since a run of seven-straight between 1990 and 1997.
 
Norfolk State received contributions from all eight Spartans it played, and each player scored at least four points. NSU's bench provided it a large lift as it outscored MSU's bench 24-4. Zairya West led all reserves with a career-high 13 points and did not miss a shot, going 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from 3-point range. The sophomore guard set or matched career highs in made field goals, made 3-pointers, rebounds (three) and assists (three).
 
The Spartans shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) for the game, were 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from long range and made 12 of their 16 free throws. Defensively, Norfolk State limited Morgan State to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor and 0-of-9 from long-range. The Lady Bears also gave the ball away 18 times.
 
Norfolk State shot nearly 36 points better than Morgan State in the first half – shooting 53.8 percent and limiting the Lady Bears to 17.9 percent. However, MSU made an about-face in the second half, shooting 51.7 percent (15-of-29) and outscoring NSU 38-28.
 
Morgan State opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run over 5:28 of action and nearly halved the deficit.  The Spartans did not score until Khadedra Croker converted a layup with 4:08 remaining.
 
NSU outrebounded the Lady Bears 36-11 and turned nine offensive boards into nine second-chance points. Every Spartan that saw the floor grabbed at least three rebounds, and Raven Russell led her team with six.
 
Sizing up CSU
The Lady Eagles (3-23, 3-11) picked up their third conference win of the season on Monday night with an 85-59 result over Delaware State. The victory came two days after an 88-81 loss to Howard.
 
CSU had issues slowing down the Bison in Saturday's loss as Howard shot 46 percent from the field, were 11-of-25 (44 percent) from 3-point range and saw three players finish with 20 or more points.
 
The Lady Eagles had two 20-point scorers of their own on Saturday. Freshman Jalynda Salley scored a career-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting along with 10 rebounds, and Brooke Fields added 21 points and a game-high eight assists.
 
CSU could not miss in its win over DSU. On Monday, the Lady Eagles shot 49 percent from the floor and made 11 of their 17 tries from 3-point range, shooting 64.7 percent from deep.
 
Fields picked up where she left off on Saturday with 19 points, 11 assists and two treys. The transfer from Division II's Robert Wesleyan College received MEAC Player of the Week honors on Tuesday and is third in the conference in both scoring (17.4 points per game) and assists (3.8). Since conference play began, she has upped her scoring to 20.8 points per game, second-highest in the MEAC, and is assisting 4.6 times per game.
 
Chance Graham logged her third and fourth double-doubles in a row last week with a 16-point, 14 rebound game at Howard and a 26-point, 12-rebound showing against DSU. The first team preseason all-conference honoree is the MEAC's leading rebounder at 12.0 boards per game and is also top-10 in the conference in scoring (16.1, fifth), steals (1.8, sixth) and blocks (1.3, seventh).
 
NSU and CSU share one common non-conference opponent in Old Dominion. The Monarchs earned a 69-53 win over the Spartans on Nov. 9 before dispatching the Lady Eagles 81-51 on Dec. 29.
 
Sizing up DSU
The Lady Hornets enter the weekend slate at 5-19 and 3-10 in conference games and host Morgan State before welcoming the Spartans. Last week, Delaware State earned one of the larger upsets of the MEAC season, defeating second-place Maryland Eastern Shore 65-62.
 
Deadeye shooting and 20-point outings from NaJai Pollard and Lanayjha Ashe propelled the Lady Hornets past the Eagles. DSU shot 46.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range in the game. Ashe hit three treys as part of her 21-point, seven-rebound, six-assist afternoon and is a top-10 marksman in the conference – ranking ninth with a 3-point shooting percentage of 32.4.
 
Pollard collected yet another double-double in the victory, ending the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. A preseason all-conference first teamer, Pollard tops the MEAC in both scoring (22.6 points per game) and field goal percentage (49.1) and is second with 10.6 rebounds.
 
Pollard went cold against Coppin State in the Lady Hornets' game on Monday, but Ashe collected her second 20-point outing in a row, finishing with 20 points and six assists against the Lady Hawks.
 
All-Time Series vs. CSU
Norfolk State and Coppin State have met 37 times prior in a series that began when the Spartans joined the MEAC for the 1997-98 season. The Lady Eagles hold a 27-10 edge over NSU all-time.
 
After splitting the first 10 meetings, CSU has won 22 of the last 27 games. The Lady Eagles reeled off 18-consecutive victories in the series between the 2004-05 and the 2014-15 seasons. Since then, NSU is 4-3 over CSU and on a three-game winning streak.
 
NSU erased an 11-point first-half deficit to take the first meeting this season, 68-63 in Baltimore. The Spartans held the Lady Eagles to one field goal in the third quarter and outscored CSU 22-7 in the period to take a 51-43 lead into the fourth quarter. 
 
Norfolk State was lights-out in that game, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and a screaming hot 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Alexys Long scored a team-high 19 points, made five of her six shots from long-range and set a career high with five assists.
 
Graham and Fields both topped 20 points for the Lady Eagles in the loss. Graham filled the box score with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a pair of steals. Fields scored 21 with five assists, four treys and two steals.
 
Head coach Larry Vickers is 3-2 all-time against Coppin State. CSU's DeWayne Burroughs is 0-3 versus the Spartans.
 
All-Time Series vs. DSU
The Spartans are 22-23 all-time against the Lady Hornets, but NSU is 10-2 in its last 12 games dating back to the 2011-12 season. Prior to that, DSU had owned the series since NSU joined the MEAC, going 21-8 between the 1997-98 season and the 2010-11 campaign. During that stretch, Norfolk State lost 11-straight games between 2006 and 2012.
 
NSU started conference play with a 63-50 win over DSU on Jan. 5. The Spartans opened the game on a 10-2 run and were up 20-9 after the first 10 minutes.
 
La'Deja James turned in 20 points, four rebounds and a game-best three steals in the win and did not miss a shot inside the 3-point arc.
 
Defensively, the Spartans limited DSU to 30-percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers. Croker blocked three shots in that game to go alongside eight points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Vickers is 4-1 all-time against the Lady Hornets. First-year head coach David Caputo is 0-1 against NSU.
 
NSU vs. the MEAC
Norfolk State is in the midst of its 22nd season of MEAC competition. The Spartans joined the conference for the 1997-98 season after spending their first 24 seasons in Division II as a member of the CIAA.
 
In its 21-plus seasons of MEAC play, NSU is 144-219 (.397) in conference tilts. The Spartans posted consecutive winning seasons in the MEAC for the first time last season, going 11-5 after a 9-7 mark in 2016-17. Norfolk State notched its ninth conference victory against Morgan State on Feb. 23 and will turn in three-straight winning conference records for the first time since its run of seven straight in the CIAA from 1990 to 1997.
 
The Spartans are 188-209 (.474) all-time against current members of the MEAC. NSU holds winning marks against Maryland Eastern Shore (26-17), South Carolina State (23-18), Morgan State (22-16), North Carolina Central (21-7) and Savannah State (9-7).
 
Vickers owns a 32-23 (.582) record in MEAC play and is 29-16 (.644) since his first full season in 2016-17. Vickers has a winning record against South Carolina State (5-1), Delaware State (4-1), Savannah State (4-3), North Carolina Central (3-0), Maryland Eastern Shore (3-1), Coppin State (3-2) and Florida A&M (3-2).
 
Defensive Titans
An unyielding defense has become a trademark for the Spartans under Vickers, who have turned in a top-40 scoring defense and a top-three field goal percentage defense in each of the last two seasons. In 2016-17, Norfolk State ranked 39th in D-I after allowing only 57.8 points per game and owned the nation's third-stingiest field goal percentage defense (33.4).
 
This season, NSU ranks 17th in scoring defense (55.5), 19th in field goal percentage defense (35.5) and sixth in opponent 3-point percentage (25.6).
 
At the conference level, the Spartans rank first in scoring defense since the 2016-17 season, allowing 56.6 points per game in that span. During the same time period, Norfolk State tops all MEAC teams in field goal percentage defense (33.8), blocks per game (5.9) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4).
 
Record Watching
The 2018-19 edition of the Spartans figure to leave their marks on the record books.
 
As a team, NSU is on pace to set single-season Division I marks in scoring defense (55.5), field goal percentage (39.9), defensive 3-point field goal percentage (25.6) and assists per game (14.5).
 
In addition, the Spartans rank third in program history in defensive field goal percentage (35.5) and in 3-point field goals (130), and are fifth in total blocks (108), blocks per game (4.2), 3-point field goal percentage (29.8) and in free throw  percentage (67.1).
 
Several Spartans are on track to enter into the D-I single-season record book as well. Long is tied for seventh in 3-point percentage (33.3) and 11th in made treys (41). Dana Echols' mark of 5.0 assists per game ranks third, and she is fifth in single-season assists (131). Croker is fourth in blocks per game (2.2) and is fifth in total blocks (50), and James is ninth in free throw percentage (79.6), 10th in steals per game (2.3) and 15th in scoring average (12.3). Lastly, Russell ranks 12th in field goal percentage (46.2), and De'Janaire Deas owns the 14th-best shooting percentage (46.0).
 
At the career level, Croker continues to climb the total blocks ledger and is second with 143. She also ranks first in blocks per game with 2.9.
 
Long's 3-point shooting percentage of 37.3 is currently second all-time in NSU history, and her 123 made treys are the fourth most. The senior sharpshooter is also seventh in all-time 3-point attempts with 330.
 
Russell currently ranks 20th in all-time scoring average at 11.2 points per game. She also ranks 12th in field goal percentage (45.9) and is 16th in career 3-point field goal shooting (29.0).
 
Lastly, Kendrea Dawkins' 0.7 blocks per game ranks 18th all-time.
 
What's Next?
Norfolk State concludes the regular season and honors a trio of seniors in Croker, Long and Russell against Howard on March 7 at 5:30 p.m. Should the Spartans win their last three games, they are guaranteed a top-four spot in the MEAC standings and a coveted first-round bye in the conference tournament, which runs from March 11 to March 16 at Scope Arena in Norfolk.