SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO --- The Norfolk State women's basketball team battled its way to a 56-47 victory at the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout Friday afternoon.
 
Graduate guard Diamond Johnson led the Spartans in scoring for the second consecutive day with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
Senior forward Kierra Wheeler also posted double figures with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Sophomore guard Anjanae Richardson provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine points.
 
Wyoming got off to a quick 4-0 lead on Norfolk State with a pair of layups. Wheeler got the Spartans within one with a layup of her own with 2:46 left to play in the first quarter. Skye Robinson grabbed an offensive rebound and the putback to tie up the game. NSU took the lead for the first time in the contest with 15 seconds left on a dish from Richardson to Robinson.
 
Richardson extended the lead up to five with a fastbreak 3-pointer, following a steal from Wheeler with 8:09 left in the second quarter. Wyoming hit three straight 3-pointers, regaining the lead at 21-20. NSU ended the second quarter on a 10-3 run with six points from Johnson and four from Wheeler, taking a six-point lead into the locker room.  
 
Johnson went straight to the hoop on the first offensive possession of the second half, expanding the lead to eight. The Cowgirls started to trim the Spartans' lead down going on a 5-0 run and cutting the lead to just three.
 
Graduate guard Da'Brya Clark got the Spartans back up five with a fastbreak layup. Allyson Fertig trimmed the NSU lead down to four heading into the fourth quarter, following a pair of free throws.
 
The Cowgirls opened the fourth quarter by making a layup and getting to the free-throw line, cutting the Spartans' lead down to one point. Wheeler hit a game-changing layup with 5:50 remaining, increasing the NSU lead to five.
 
Wheeler helped put the final touches to the NSU victory late in the fourth quarter by hitting a layup and getting fouled with 1:25 remaining. Johnson put the game out of reach by getting past the defense, capping it off with a wide-open layup with 46 seconds remaining, increasing the NSU lead to its largest. NSU would go on to claim its seventh victory of the season 56-47.
 
Checking The Box Score

• Diamond Johnson led Norfolk State in scoring with 18 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two assists
• Kierra Wheeler also posted double figures with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks
• Anjanae Richardson provided a boost off the bench, finishing with nine points, two assists, and one steal
• The Spartans shot 41.8 percent from the field (23-of-55) compared to the Cowgirls 32 percent (16-of-50)
• NSU outscored UW 36-22 in the paint

 
News & Notes

• Norfolk State improves to 7-2 with the win
• Wyoming falls to 3-4 with the loss
• NSU is now 1-0 all-time against UW
• Kierra Wheeler finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout

 
Up Next
Norfolk State will play one more game at the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout at 10 a.m. EST against Green Bay.
 
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