Norfolk, Va. – Camille Downs put up another stat sheet-stuffing performance on Monday as the Spartans beat North Carolina Central 71-63. Downs led the team in points (22), rebounds (10), and steals (6), while
Deja Francis added 20 points and five assists.
The Spartans played strongly in the first quarter, outscoring the Eagles 19-15. Downs got going fast, scoring nine of the team's final 11 points of the period. She would sit out most of the second quarter, though, after picking up a pair of first-quarter fouls.
The NSU defense began to falter in the second quarter. NCCU guard Diamond Thomas started raining 3-pointers on the Spartans, hitting two early in the second quarter to give her three for the first half. Thomas would finish with a game-high 24 points, knocking down six long balls.
The outburst from Thomas helped the Eagles take control of the lead towards the end of the second quarter. NCCU took a 36-29 edge into the second half.
NSU took the momentum early in the third quarter with a Downs layup and two free throws from
Janay Turner, but the Eagles opened the lead back up with a Thomas 3-pointer and another layup to go up by 11.
Deja Francis got to the line and Turner made a layup off of a Downs steal and dish, and this time the Spartans didn't give the energy back. Downs knocked down a three to cap off a 14-5 run that pulled NSU within two, and
Makoye Diawara tied the game at 51 with a turnaround layup a few minutes later.
The Spartans outscored NCCU 27-16 in the third quarter to take a four-point lead into the final period.
NSU did anything but slow down to start the fourth quarter, scoring the first ten points to take a 66-52 lead. Diawara scored six of those points to finish with ten, going a perfect 5-5 from the field.
The win improved NSU to 14-10, 10-3 in the MEAC. The Spartans return to Echols for Senior Night on Thursday, ending the regular season with a rematch against Howard. The Bison beat the Spartans 71-67 in the teams' first meeting on Feb. 10.
