NORFOLK, Va. – Rae Corbo led four Norfolk State players in double figures with 14 points, and the fourth-seeded Spartans cruised to a 70-45 win over No. 13 Delaware State in the first round of the 2015 MEAC Tournament on Monday morning at the Norfolk Scope.
Kayla Roberts added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Aivah Parham had 12 points off the bench and Koryn Lawrence chipped in with 10 for NSU (13-15), which won a first-round MEAC tourney game for the third time in the last four years. NSU advances to a 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday against the winner of Monday’s South Carolina State-Howard game.
With her 14 points, Corbo (1,591 career points) passed Suawana Taylor (1,584) as NSU’s all-time Division I-era leading scorer. Corbo passed Taylor into sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list Monday.
The beginning of the game resembled the teams’ meeting on Feb. 23, a 95-55 NSU win in which the Spartans got off to a quick start. Roberts scored five early points Monday as the Spartans began the game with an 8-0 spurt. NSU’s zone defensive pressure caused DSU problems early, as the Lady Hornets (5-25) didn’t score their first points until a Nikkei Blackburn jumper with 15:33 left in the half.
NSU’s defense was the story of the first half. DSU got as close as four points, at 14-10, with 11:04 left in the period. But the Spartans outscored DSU 14-2 over the final 10 minutes of the first half and did not allow DSU a single point for the final 6:12 of the stanza.
The Lady Hornets shot just 25 percent (6-of-24) and were forced into 11 turnovers in the opening half.
NSU removed any doubt about the game’s outcome by scoring the first nine points of the second half. Roberts scored on an easy layup inside, Lawrence followed suit with one of her own, and then Corbo converted a three-point play and another layup on consecutive possessions to stretch the lead to 41-14.
The Spartans led by as many as 37 after a Kieera Basey 3-pointer with 10:44 left extended the margin to 58-21.
NSU was able to substitute liberally in the second half. All 13 Spartans who dressed played, and 10 of the 13 scored.
Amber Brown paced the Spartans with a career-high 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Led by Brown and Roberts, NSU outrebounded DSU 54-25 and scored 21 second-chance points.
Brown, Nia Roberts and Basey added five points apiece.
Amber Bogard scored 18 points and blocked seven shots to pace the Lady Hornets, who shot just 35 percent from the floor for the game.
NSU picked up its 13th win of the season on Monday, its most since the 2001-02 won 22 en route to the MEAC championship. The 25-point margin of victory is NSU’s second-largest in MEAC Tournament play, trailing only a 26-point win over Maryland Eastern Shore (68-42) in 2001.
Courtesy: Norfolk State Athletics
