Despite Norfolk State’s season coming to end following a 72-40 loss against defending national champion South Carolina, it was not all bad as one Spartans player received credit from an unlikely source.
After the game, Dawn Staley joined Norfolk State in their locker room and praised sophomore forward Kierra Wheeler.
In a video posted to teammate Deja Francis’ Instagram story, Staley praised Wheeler saying, “Our post players, when I first got to South Carolina, were chopping bigs down like you were chopping our bigs down.”
Norfolk State men’s assistant coach Leonard Fairley responded to the video saying, “Real recognize real 13 & 9 vs not only the best frontcourt in the country but the best player in the country who will be the #1 pick in the WNBA draft. The world now knows who Kierra ‘Meme’ Wheeler is now.”
Real recognize real
13 & 9 vs not only the best frontcourt in the country but the best player in the country who will be the #1 pick in the WNBA draft
The world now knows who Kierra “Meme” Wheeler is now pic.twitter.com/9iht2M2NmY
— Leonard Fairley (@CoachLenNSU) March 17, 2023
The Spartans’ forward led all scorers in the game with 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Transferring to Norfolk State from Daytona State College, Wheeler was named to the All-MEAC Third Team and the All-MEAC Defensive Team in her first year with the Spartans.
During the season,,she was the team’s most efficient scorer, shooting 54% from the field and leading the team in rebounding at 8.4 per game.
She was instrumental in the team clinching a berth in the MEAC championship game, tallying a combined 43 points and 22 rebounds in the first two games of the tournament.
