BOCA RATON, Florida – Kayla Roberts made a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the game to lift Norfolk State women's basketball past St. Francis Brooklyn 52-51 on day two of the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Roberts scored the final five points of the game and becomes the first Spartan to sink a game-winning free throw with less than five seconds remaining since Whitney Long did so against Savannah State on Jan. 2, 2011.
Norfolk State (2-3) trailed by 10 at halftime and was down by six, 49-43, with just 3:21 left in the game. From there the Spartans scored nine of the game's final 11 points to complete the come-from-behind bid.
Roberts knocked down a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to pull NSU to within one, 51-50. The shot came on a scramble following an offensive rebound by Khadedra Croker.
The Spartan defense then forced St. Francis Brooklyn (1-4) into a turnover, and Roberts was fouled at half court just before time expired.
Norfolk State relied on a stout second-half defense to get back into the game. After scoring 34 points on 46.2 percent shooting in the first half, the Terriers managed only 17 points after the intermission and shot 33.3 percent from the field. St. Francis Brooklyn made seven 3-pointers in the first half but made only one in the final 20 minutes.
A slow start on offense had the Spartans down 18-11 after the first quarter. Croker made the first three baskets for NSU, but the team shot only 33.3 percent (4-of-12) in the first period.
Croker's third field goal came at the 7:12 mark of the first and trimmed the Terriers' lead to 10-6. However, Norfolk State went the next 3:49 without a point as St. Francis Brooklyn went on a 10-0 run.
Raven Russell broke that run with a pair of free throws at 2:02 and started a 5-0 quarter-ending spurt for NSU. Alexys Long hit a jumper with 1:02 remaining to make the score 18-10, and Russell made one final free throw to close out the first period.
Russell matched a career best with 13 points on Saturday. The junior guard made three of her six shots, including a pair of treys, and went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to set new career highs in free throws made and attempted.
Alex Delaney started the second quarter with a made 3-pointer that put the Terriers ahead 21-11. Norfolk State would trim that deficit to three points twice in the quarter, but St. Francis Brooklyn led 34-24 at the break.
A 7-0 run by NSU made the score 21-18 with 6:20 left in the half. Roberts started the run with a layup. Russell bookended two free throws by Armani Franklin with a trey to complete the run.
Both teams traded layups before the Terriers broke away with two-straight 3-pointers to build a 29-20 lead with 4:46 remaining.
Russell knocked down a trey to trim the lead to six, but Jade Johnson answered with a 3-ball of her own to put St. Francis Brooklyn up by nine again, 32-23.
The Spartans came out energized to start the second half and scored the first nine points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to one point.
Long started the run with a trey at the 8:54 mark, and Russell followed with a layup 34 seconds later. Franklin accounted for the final four points of the run with a pair of free throws and a slicing layup that made the score 34-33 and prompted a timeout by St. Francis Brooklyn.
The Terriers went nearly five minutes without a point to start the third quarter – missing their first five shots and turning the ball over three times in that span. Lorraine Hickman broke the seal for St. Francis Brooklyn with a jumper at 5:01 and scored again at 3:41 to put her team up 38-35.
Russell briefly put the Spartans ahead with a free throw at 2:03. The 39-38 lead was the first for the Spartans' since the 9:31 mark of the first quarter, but it would not last long as Dana DiRenzo made a pair of free throws six seconds later.
Norfolk State trailed 43-41 entering the fourth quarter and never held a lead until the final second.
Croker knotted the score at 43-43 with a jumper at 8:03, but St. Francis Brooklyn scored the next six points. Maria Palarino gave the Terriers a six-point lead with a layup at 3:21, and it would be the Terriers' penultimate basket of the game.
Roberts began Norfolk State's final push of the game with a jumper at 2:59. The senior from Miami, Florida overcame a slow start of the game to score seven points in the fourth quarter on 2-of-4 shooting.
Franklin's final free throws of the game brought NSU to within one possession, 49-47, with 1:16 left in the game. The freshman guard matched a career-high with 10 points and went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line and assisted on three baskets.
A day after turning the ball over a season-high 24 times, the Spartans committed only 17 turnovers on Saturday. The Terriers turned the ball over 20 times, which led to 20 points.
NSU narrowly edged St. Francis Brooklyn on the boards 33-30, including a 15-11 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Delaney scored 13 points to pace the Terriers. Amy O'Neill recorded a game-high seven assists.
Norfolk State returns to Echols Hall on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with High Point.
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NOFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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