NORFOLK, Virginia – The Norfolk State women's basketball team received a stern test in its MEAC opener, surviving an upset bid from Coppin State in a 71-57 victory at Echols Hall on Wednesday night. The Spartans led for the majority of the evening but struggled to gain separation from the scrappy Eagles.
Genesis Lucas shined for Coppin State (1-12, 0-1 MEAC) with a career-high 29 points in the losing effort. The redshirt-senior made a career-best 11 field goals while pouring in 17 points in the second quarter. Only four other Coppin State players scored in the contest and none had more than Maraiyah Smith's 11.
Norfolk State (8-5, 1-0) relied on a balanced attack, as nine Spartans scored four or more points, including three in double figures. Kayla Roberts scored a team-high 18 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. The senior guard/forward also blocked two shots and recorded three steals.
NSU owned the boards in the game, setting a season high with 49 rebounds. The Spartans corralled 17 of their own misses and held a decisive 17-6 edge in second-chance points. Khadedra Croker came down with nine boards to lead NSU.
The first half of action featured a duel of two stars as Roberts and Lucas, both preseason first team All-MEAC selections, put on a show.
Roberts scored 10 points in the first quarter, including eight of Norfolk State's first 13. Alexys Long tied the game at 3-3 with a trey at the 7:44 mark, then Roberts took over and netted eight points as the Spartans went on a 10-0 run.
The Miami, Florida native got going with a 3-pointer at the 6:09 mark, then followed with layup less than a minute later. Gabrielle Swinson laid it in 15 seconds later to put NSU up 10-5, then Roberts converted a 3-point play to increase the Spartans' margin to eight.
Lucas halted the run with a jumper at the 3:47 mark. From there the NSU lead oscillated between six and eight points as both teams traded baskets. Chance Graham scored in the paint with 14 seconds left in the period to make the score 17-11 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was where Lucas went off, scoring 17 of Coppin State's 19 points in the period. The redshirt-senior guard made seven of her 12 attempts in the quarter while her teammates combined to go 0-of-5 from the field.
Even with Lucas' outpouring, the Eagles shaved just one point off the deficit and entered the intermission trailing 35-30.
Norfolk State shot 41.7 percent in the second quarter and also made eight of their nine free throws. For the game, the Spartans made a season-high 22 shots from the charity stripe while shooting 81.5 percent, also a season-high.
The Spartans appeared poised to finally pull away in the third quarter, but the Eagles willed their way back into the contest. Long made two free throws at the 6:35 mark to put NSU up 43-33, but the Spartans went scoreless for nearly two minutes while Coppin State went on an 8-0 run.
Lucas converted an and-one opportunity to make the score 43-38, and Smith hit from deep to pull Coppin State to within two points, 43-41, with 3:55 remaining in the quarter.
The Spartans countered and built a seven-point advantage with 1:19 left in the period, but once again the Eagles rallied to make it a one-possession game heading into the final period. Lucas hit two free throws in the final minute, and Smith knocked down another clutch 3-pointer to make it a 52-49 ballgame.
In the fourth quarter, Norfolk State slowed down Lucas and continued its success from the free throw line to finally gain lasting separation.
Lucas scored just two points in the period on 1-of-7 shooting. As a team, the Eagles made only three of their 12 shots in the quarter.
NSU made eight of nine free throws in the final quarter, including a 4-for-4 effort by Swinson. The senior guard turned in her second double-figure scoring game of the season with 10 points while also contributing eight rebounds and a game-high six assists.
The Spartans opened the fourth on an 8-2 run and built a 61-51 lead with 7:08 left in the game, and the lead never dipped below 10 points again.
Norfolk State assisted on 15 baskets in the game but also committed 22 turnovers, breaking a streak of five-straight games with less than 20 giveaways.
Once again, the Spartans protected their basket and blocked nine shots. Three players had multiple blocks, and Croker led all with three rejections.
Norfolk State takes to the road for a pair of away contests this Saturday and Monday. The Spartans face off with North Carolina A&T at 2 p.m. on Saturday before facing North Carolina Central at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
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NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
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