NC Central and South Carolina St up next Norfolk St. women’s hoops

_{title image via Norfolk State Basketball}

Courtesy of Maya Dawson, Asst Director of Sports Communications, Norfolk State University

SETTING THE SCENE
The Spartans (17-5, 6-1 MEAC) look keep their momentum rolling with match-ups against South Carolina State (1-21, 0-7 MEAC) on Saturday and North Carolina Central (11-11, 5-2 MEAC) on Monday.

After 12 days of rest, the Spartans are riding a five-game win streak into their games against the Bulldogs and Eagles. In this win streak, the Spartans have won by an average margin of 25.8 points.

Diamond Johnson (19.4) and Kierra Wheeler (15.1) are first and third in the MEAC in scoring during conference play. 

In the previous game against Maryland Eastern Shore, Johnson caught fire after tying her career-high of 29 points, with 20 of those points coming in the first half alone.

The game between Norfolk State and North Carolina Central will see the first place Spartans face off against the second place Eagles. The Spartans defeated the Eagles the first time they met this season on Monday, Jan 8., 81-60, on the road.

LAST TIME OUT

• Norfolk State went on the road to Princess Anne, M.D. to take on Maryland Eastern Shore
• They garnered their sixth consecutive win over the Hawks with a 80-59 win
• Diamond Johnson led all scorers with 29 points after a 20-point first half
• Along with her 29 points, Johnson also had five steals, three assists and five rebounds on 11-16 shooting, while also going 5-6 from three-point range 
• Kierra Wheeler finished one-shy of 20 points going for 19 with three assists, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will mark the 49th meeting between the Spartans and the Bulldogs, the Spartans lead with a 30-18 record
• The Spartans have won twelve consecutive games against the Bulldogs stretching since the 2017-18 season
• Monday will mark the 41st meeting between the Spartans and the Hawks, the Spartans lead with a 30-10 record
• The Spartans have won three consecutive games against the Hawks

BULLDOGS SCOUT

• The Bulldogs are coming off a 39-63 loss to Coppin State at home on Monday
• The Bulldogs have lost 14 straight game and have not won a single conference game with a conference record of 0-7
• Cassandra Colon was the only player who scored in double figures in the loss to Coppin State. She had 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting
• The team finished with 23 turnovers while shooting 31.1 percent from the floor

HAWKS SCOUT

• Maryland Eastern Shore is 11-11 this season with a 5-2 conference record
• The Hawks are coming off a 66-65 win over Morgan State on Monday
• The Hawks are on a three-game win streak with wins over Morgan State (66-65), Coppin State (53-48), and Delaware State (64-58).
• Aniya Finger made one of her two free-throws with 14 seconds left to win the game for the Hawks over the Bears after they missed a layup with four second left
• Five Hawks players scored in double digits and those five players scored all but two points for the Hawks

TIP-INS

• Norfolk State has the second leading scoring offense in the MEAC (67.4) and North Carolina Central is in first place (67.5)
• Norfolk State leads the MEAC in scoring defense (55.7), whilst North Carolina Central (67.2) and South Carolina State (68.9) are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively
• Kierra Wheeler currently leads the conference in scoring (17.7) and rebounding (9.8), whilst second in field goal percentage (53 percent) and blocked shots (1.3)

LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT’S NEXT
Norfolk State will travel to Baltimore, M.D. to play Coppin State on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Morgan State on Monday, Feb. 26.