DOVER, Del.  – Junior forward Kayla Roberts scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while senior forward Khalilah Ali added 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Norfolk State women's basketball team to an 82-74 victory over Delaware State on Monday evening at Memorial Hall.

Ali set a new career high in scoring for the second straight game for the Spartans (9-7, 4-0 MEAC), who matched their best-ever MEAC start Monday. Their only other time starting 4-0 came in their MEAC championship season of 2001-02. With its fourth MEAC win, NSU also surpassed last season's total of three.
 
Guards Jordan Strode and Dominique Harper joined Ali and Roberts in double-digit scoring, with 13 points apiece. Guard Kiara Phillips dished out a career-high eight assists while adding eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Delaware State's offense was on fire at the start of the game. The Lady Hornets made six of their first 10 shots to open up a 17-11 lead when NaJai Pollard made a jumper in the lane with 3:33 left in the first quarter.  However, Norfolk State closed the frame with an 11-2 run. Strode got it started by a nailing a three from the corner with 2:14 remaining in the period. Alexys Long hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to cap the run as the first-quarter horn sounded, giving the Spartans a 22-19 lead.   
 
Norfolk State continued its hot shooting and increased its lead to 47-33 at halftime. Ali had eight points and Phillips hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, helping the Spartans outscore DSU (1-16, 0-4) 25-14 in the stanza. NSU hit six 3-pointers in the first half.
 
The third quarter was a shooting display as the two teams registered a combined 52 points, with the Spartans outscoring the Hornets 27-25. Norfolk State was 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from the floor during the stanza, while Delaware State was 9-of-17 (52.9 percent), including 6-of-8 (75 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
 
The Spartans led 74-58 as the teams headed to the final 10 minutes of the game and needed every bit of their 16-point lead. The Lady Hornets outscored Norfolk State 16-7 in the frame and held the Spartans without a field goal. NSU accounted for all seven of its points on 7-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line, which helped the Spartans keep DSU at bay. DSU never got closer than seven in the final quarter.
 
Norfolk State outrebounded Delaware State 49-44 and scored 22 points off 16 DSU turnovers. The Spartans notched a season-high 14 steals on the night, with Strode recording a career-high five steals. Harper and Phillips also set career highs with four apiece. NSU also outscored DSU 10-0 in fast-break points.
 
Both Roberts and Ali also blocked two shots for the Spartans. Ali, named the MEAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the day, scored what was then a career high 19 points in Saturday's win over North Carolina Central. It was Ali's second double-double of the year and the seventh of the season for Roberts.
 
Delaware State shot 42.4 percent (28-66) from the floor, including 50 percent (8-of-16) from downtown, while Norfolk State shot 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from behind the arc.
 
Pollard led the way for Delaware State with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Mikah Aldridge added 21 points, while Lorna Caesar was the third Hornet in double figures with 10 points.
 
The Spartans will have four days off before the first round of the Battle of the Bay with Hampton. NSU and Hampton (also 4-0 MEAC) are two of four remaining unbeaten teams in MEAC play, along with Howard and Bethune-Cookman. Tip-off between the Spartans and Lady Pirates is 4 p.m. Saturday at Echols Hall.