NORFOLK, Va.— Norfolk State used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull out a 71-62 win over the Longwood women's basketball team in non-conference action at Echols Hall on Thursday.
Longwood (1-1) held leads after the first, second and third quarters and got balanced scoring from up and down its roster, but the two-time defending MEAC champion Spartans (2-0) received a career-high-tying 32 points from Diamond Johnson and a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double by Kierra Wheeler to secure a come-from-behind victory and extend their home winning streak to 16 games.
"I was really proud how we competed tonight," said Longwood head coach
Erika Lang-Montgomery. "I thought we played with a lot of energy. Thought we really battled on the boards. We knew that was going to be a challenge for us tonight and just came up short."
Graduate guard
Kiki McIntyre posted 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks to pace Longwood, which held the lead for nearly 20 minutes throughout the night.
The Lancers, who also received 11 points and four boards from senior guard
Mariah Wilson, led by as many as eight in the second quarter and five late in the third against a Norfolk State team ranked No. 14 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll.
In all, 10 Longwood players scored and four tallied at least five points apiece while the Lancers battled the Spartans to a 39-all draw on the boards.
"I feel like this is a team where offense can come from a lot of different places," Lang-Montgomery said. "And so it was good to see some other people step up and put the ball in the basket."
Freshman guard
Lili Booker scored the Lancers' final five points of the first quarter, giving her team an 18-15 advantage heading to the second. She stripped Johnson of the ball with just over two minutes remaining and went the other way for a layup to make it 15-13 and later drained a 3-pointer off of a McIntyre feed for the three-point edge on Longwood's final possession of the period.
Booker finished with a seven points, one steal and one assists in her second collegiate game.
The Lancers opened a 25-17 bulge with 6:48 left in the first half when Wilson hit a trey, assisted by
JaMya Robinson, after she grabbed the rebound of her own miss and found Wilson on the perimeter. That bucket prompted a Norfolk State timeout.
NSU closed to within 30-29 at the half, hitting six of its 11 attempts from the floor in the second quarter.
Sophomore
Frances Ulysse found McIntyre for another 3-pointer to begin the second half, but the Spartans rallied to take a 37-35 lead at the eight-minute mark of the frame. Ulysse, though, tied it on the next trip while
Amor Harris and McIntyre followed with jumpers for a 41-37 lead with six minutes to play in the quarter.
With the game tied, 41-41, with four minutes left in the third, Wilson hit a triple and Booker a layup in a quick 5-0 spurt. After a Johnson canned one of her six shots from distance, Wilson responded with the third of her own to make it 49-44 with 2:29 to play in the third.
From there, Norfolk State engineered a 23-4 run, holding Longwood scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes, to take a 67-53 lead with three minutes left.
"Our identity is on the defensive end," said Lang-Montgomery. "I think we did a good job of disrupting what they wanted to do. We've got to do a little bit better, when one person's getting hot being able to make some adjustments to show something different so they're not as comfortable offensively.
"But it's a great showing. Like I said, I'm really proud of how we competed and I'm excited to play again on Sunday."
The Lancers are back home Sunday to take on Hood in a homecoming matinee Sunday. Tip is set for noon on Sunday at the Joan Perry Brock Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.
