NSU and Hampton Face off on Saturday at Echols Hall

NORFOLK, Viriginia  --  The Norfolk State women's basketball team is looking for its first win over Hampton in six years when they take on the Lady Pirates in the Battle of the Bay on Saturday, Jan. 26 in Joseph Echols Hall. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. This is the third of three consecutive home games for the Spartans.

Media Coverage: The game against Hampton will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will be available here. Live audio can be found here. You can also listen to the game on the Heritage Sports Network on Sirius XM 128.

Last Time Out: The Spartans (3-14, 1-5) snapped a six-game losing streak with an 81-68 victory over Morgan State on Jan. 21 at Joseph Echols Hall. Junior Aivah Parham had a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead NSU. It was Parham's first double-double of the season. Junior Rachel Gordon also tied her career-best with 25 points and 12 rebounds to notch her third double-double of the season.

The Spartans shot 40.0 (26-of-65) percent from the floor on the night while the Lady Bears were held to 30.8 (20-of-65) percent shooting. NSU outrebounded Morgan State 50-38 and outscored the Lady Bears in the paint 30-10.

Three players scored in double-figures for Morgan State. Brianna Coardes led the Lady Bears with 18 points. Bianca Jarrett added 13 points and five rebounds while Whitney Southerland posted 11 points, respectively.

All-Time Series: Hampton leads the series with NSU, 48-35. The Spartans have not won against Hampton since Dec. 2, 2006.

About Hampton: The Lady Pirates (14-5, 5-0) are coming off of a 58-50 win over Coppin State on Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center in Hampton, Va. Hampton shot 34.4 (22-of-64) percent from the floor and held the Lady Eagles to just 30.5 (18-of-59) percent shooting. Olivia Allen led the Lady Pirates with 22 points and three rebounds. Aside from Allen, two other Hampton players scored in double-figures. Keiara Avant recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Nicole Hamilton added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Last Year Against Hampton: The Spartans were 0-3 last season against Hampton. On Jan.21 the Lady Pirates came out with a 92-43 victory over NSU at the Convocation Center in Hampton, Va. Hampton shot 44.0 (33-of-75) percent from the floor while the Spartans only shot 25.0 (12-of-48) percent. Rae Corbo led NSU with 19 points and was the only Spartan to score in double-figures. Choicetta McMillian and Nicole Hamilton led the Lady Pirates with 16 points each. Two other Hampton players reached double-figures including Keiara Avant, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Alyssa Bennett, who tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.

On Feb. 11 NSU suffered a 68-46 loss to the Lady Pirates at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans shot 43.9 (18-of-41) percent from the floor and held Hampton to 36.9 (24-of-65) percent shooting. Tyisha Bridges led NSU with 11 points and three steals. Choicetta McMillian led Hampton with 28 points and five rebounds. Teammate Melanie Warner picked up a double-double as she finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Spartans fell to Hampton, 61-40, in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 MEAC Tournament held at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. NSU shot 32.7 (17-of-52) from the field while Hampton only shot 31.1 (19-of-61) percent. Tyisha Bridges led NSU with 12 points. Jericka Jenkins led the Lady Pirates with 20 points. Teammates Keiara Avant (13 pts.) and Alyssa Bennett (12 pts.) had seven rebounds each, respectively.

Scoring Leaders: Rachel Gordon leads NSU in scoring averaging 10.1 points per game followed by Kashay Barnes, who is averaging 9.8 points per game. Barnes scored a career-high 25 points in the Spartans overtime loss to UMES on Jan. 12.

Parham Stepping Up: Aivah Parham posted a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds in the Spartans 81-68 victory over Morgan State on Jan. 21. Parham led NSU in scoring and tied with Rachel Gordon in rebounds on the night. The game against Morgan State marked her first double-double and her fifth game that she finished scoring in double-figures.

Gordon Named MEAC Player of the Week: Forward Rachel Gordon earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors, the league office announced on Jan 21.

Gordon came away with 19 rebounds, blocked three shots and recorded two steals in two games for the Spartans. She nearly had a double-double against Howard on Jan. 14 as she finished the night with 11 rebounds and eight points. Gordon was also just shy of a double-double against Coppin State on Jan. 19 where she scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds

This is the second time this season that Gordon was named Defensive Player of the Week. She earned Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors alongside Savannah State's Erin Hogue on Nov. 27.

MEAC, NCAA Leaderboard: As a team NSU currently ranks in the top 5 in six different categories in the MEAC, while NSU players rank in the top 5 in five different categories, including Rachel Gordon, who leads the league in rebounding at 11.3 boards per game. Gordon also currently ranks 12th in the NCAA in rebounding. Recca Trice is tied for first in the league for assists and is ranked 30th in the nation in assists per games.

Cracking the top 10: Recca Trice's seven assists in the game against Appalachian State on Nov. 25 moved her into sixth place all-time in the NSU record book for career assists. Trice has 94 assists on the season and her 426 career assists puts her two away from tying Dekisha Thompson for fifth all-time.

 Rachel Gordon's eight rebounds in the game against Coppin State on Jan. 19 moved her into 11th place all-time in the NSU record book for career rebounds. Gordon has 158 rebounds on the season and her 625 career rebounds puts her 86 away from tying Andrea Watts for 10th all-time.

Owning the Paint: NSU outscored Morgan State in the paint, 30-10, on Jan. 21. Last season NSU dominated the inside scoring, averaging 6.8 more points in the paint per game. Only Monmouth, Howard, Hampton (first meeting) and Bethune-Cookman (first meeting) scored more points in the paint than NSU in a game last year.

Winning the Rebounding Battle: NSU outrebounded Morgan State, 50-38, on Jan. 21, with Rachel Gordon and Aivah Parham leading the way with 12 rebounds each.

Defensive Minded: Rachel Gordon and Aivah Parham tallied 12 rebounds each in the Spartans 81-68 win over Morgan State on Jan. 21 Gordon currently leads the MEAC in rebounding, averaging 11.3 rebounds per game.

By Chaundrea Lee, Media Relations Assistant
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY
NSUSPARTANS.COM