Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State freshman center Marian Brooks (Woodbridge, Va.) connected on seven of her 10 free throws for the game, all in the second half, to help the NSU women's basketball team to its first win of the season, a 78-74 victory over St. Paul's on Friday night at Echols Hall. The win was also the first for interim head coach Debra Clark as the Spartans' head coach.
As a team, NSU (1-2) shot 75 percent (18-of-24) from the charity stripe in the second half alone and was 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) for the game.
The game was close the entire way. The largest lead St. Paul's (0-2) was able to accumulate was a six-point advantage, 27-21, with 6:33 left in the first half. But a three-point play by junior guard Raychele Payne (Newport News, Va.) put the Spartans up by two, 32-30 with 3:31 left in the opening period.
The Lady Tigers took the lead (34-32) on a jumper by Kiara Walton with 1:06 left and went into halftime with a 36-35 advantage.
NSU took the lead for good on a layup by sophomore guard Whitney Long (Raleigh, N.C.) with 12:51 left in the game. The Spartans went on a 19-7 run over the next 5:38 to take their largest lead of the game, 12, after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Marquilla Evans (Portsmouth, Va.) to bring the score to 65-53.
But the Lady Tigers slowly chipped away at the lead and got within one, 75-74, on a layup by Tatiana Ellis with 33 seconds left in the game. Brooks and Long combined for 3-of-5 free throws in the last 25 seconds to preserve the win for the Spartans.
Juantale Cook led St. Paul's with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-for-7 beyond the arc and 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Ellis had 16 points and four rebounds, while Allukeshia Guy had 14 points, six boards and five assists.
Long led the Spartans for the second consecutive game with career-high-tying 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. She hit six of her seven free throws, had a career-high seven assists, and added four rebounds and four steals.
Evans had 13 points and two rebounds, while Brooks and Payne each scored 11 points. Brooks set new career-highs in points and assists (one), and tied her career-best with three rebounds.
The Spartans travel to Birmingham, Ala. during the Thanksgiving break to take part in the University of Alabama Birmingham's Thanksgiving Classic. NSU takes on UAB at 7 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday and Samford at noon (Eastern) on Saturday.
