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NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will play just its second home game of the season as McNeese State comes to town Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest at Joseph Echols Hall.
Catch all the action live via NSU's all-access video stream and follow along with the live stats throughout the game.
Last Time Out: William & Mary picked up its first win of the season in a 74-59 win over NSU Wednesday in Williamsburg, Va.
Whitney Long scored 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting to lead NSU, while also posting a career-high seven rebounds and three steals. Marian Brooks totaled nine points and 10 rebounds, while Recca Trice added a game-high five assists.
Taysha Pye and Emily Correal scored 28 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the Tribe. The Spartans shot 37.1 percent, while William & Mary hit 46.0 percent. The Tribe also had a 45-43 edge in rebounds, despite having 16 more boards than NSU in the first half.
About McNeese State: The Cowgirls have won four games in a row, the latest a 60-41 win over Louisiana-Monroe Dec. 14, and stand 6-3 on the season so far.
Ashlyn Baggett leads all scorers with 15.1 points per game, with twin sister Caitlyn Baggett at 8.6 points. Kendra Wells ranks third with 7.9 points and leads the Cowgirls with 6.9 rebounds a game. Caitlyn and Ashlyn rank 1-2 in assists with 33 and 17, and Ashlyn leads the way with 21 steals with Caitlyn second with 16.
McNeese State shoots 38.4 percent from the floor, but limits the opposition to 37.7 percent shooting. Despite those percentages, the Cowgirls average 69.7 points per game compared to 55.8 percent for the other team, thanks in part to 33 more 3-pointers made than the other teams and 54 less turnovers.
Best Start in D-I: The Spartans began the year 3-0 before falling to Morehead State. It marked the first time NSU began a year 3-0 in the Division I era. The last time the Spartans won their first three games of the season was 1996-97, NSU's last year in Division II.
NSU also secured two wins in a tournament at the Comfort Inn & Suites Classic at Morehead State for the first time since 2005-06, when the Spartans got a pair of victories in the Carolina First Classic to open the season.
Ready to Surpass Last Year: With a 4-3 record, NSU has already equaled the number of wins from the 2009-10 season. A fifth win would mark the number of victories combined between the previous two seasons.
NSU also started the year out with a 4-1 record. The only other time that happened in the D-I era occurred during the 2001-02 season when NSU went on to capture the MEAC tournament title.
Leading the MEAC: NSU ranked in the top 3 in 11 different categories heading into the weekend, and led the conference in scoring margin (+0.6), field goal percentage (42.1), rebounding margin (+3.1), assists (13.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.6).
Nationally Ranked Defense: Heading into the week, NSU ranked 20th in the nation in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to a 24.7 percent clip from long range. NSU lowered that mark to 23.5 percent after holding William & Mary to 1-of-9 on Wednesday.
Long Providing a Spark: For the second time this season and third time in her career, Long tallied at least 20 points when she hit for 24 against William & Mary. She set career highs with 11 field goals and seven rebounds. She also had 23 points against Houston Baptist Nov. 19 and owns a career high of 30 set at Savannah State last season.
Brooks, Chambers Shooting Lights Out: So far this season, Marian Brooks and Carlon Chambers have combined to go 30-of-46 from the floor, a 65.2 percent shooting clip. Neither player, though, has attempted enough shots to rank in the MEAC.
Owning the Glass: After getting outrebounded by 7.5 boards a game last year, NSU has outrebounded five of its seven opponents this year. Through seven games, the Spartans rank first in the MEAC with a +3.1 rebounding margin.
The Spartans also had 40 or more rebounds in the first five games of the year and in six of seven overall. The last time NSU had at least 40 rebounds in five straight games occurred from Jan. 15, 2007-Feb. 5, 2007 during a span of six games.
Increased Production: After Batavia Owens averaged 4.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last year, the coaches stated they needed her to be a consistent performer this year. So far the sophomore has scored in double figures in four games and has posted 9.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She ranks tied for sixth in the conference in rebounding and second with 3.6 offensive rebounds a game.
No Sophomore Slump: After finishing first in the conference in assists and sixth in steals, Trice is at it again in her sophomore campaign. She stands second in assists at 4.1 per contest, but more importantly, sits first in assist-turnover ratio at 1.5 (29 assists, 19 turnovers).
Mixing It Up: NSU will use a lot of combinations on the floor throughout the season, and it has shown so far. In all seven games on the year, NSU has had at least seven players with 12 or more minutes on the floor and has used six different starting lineups.
What Lies Ahead: NSU will get its second 11-day layoff of the month before heading to George Mason Dec. 29 for a 7 p.m. contest.
