COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Norfolk State Spartans’ historic season ended in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 in an 82-69 loss to Maryland on Saturday.
Kierra Wheeler was the Spartans’ top scorer with 20 points on 62% shooting, adding seven rebounds and three blocks.
Diamond Johnson led the Spartans with 18 points (16 points in the first half), hitting four three-pointers while grabbing six rebounds, and three steals.
The opening minute was kind to the Spartans, scoring five quick points on consecutive forced turnovers. They continued to put pressure on Maryland on both ends, to go up 10-4 midway through the first.
However, Maryland began getting comfortable by establishing a presence in the paint which led to second-chance scoring opportunities and free throws.
In addition, the Terps got the hot hand, hitting two of three three-point attempts in the opening period to end with an 18-12 lead.
Wheeler talked about her battle with Maryland’s frontcourt and how the attention she received allowed her teammates to make an impact on the boards.
“Just trying to push me under the basket,” Wheeler said. “You can’t get a rebound if you’re too far under the basket. So, they did a good job of pushing me under the basket. I’m one of the tallest players on my team, but I’m not the tallest player out there. They’re 6’1, 6’2, so they have a little bit of length. It was really just trying to focus on me because I’m a good rebounder. That caused opportunities for my teammates to get rebounds because they were so focused on me.”
Determined to keep themselves within striking distance, the Spartans lead on the MEAC Player of the Year to give them a boost in the second quarter. She scored 10 of the team’s 20 points, including two three-pointers.
Norfolk State’s defense also began to pick up, forcing seven Maryland turnovers in the second quarter, holding them to 12 points while regaining the lead.
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese praised Norfolk State, saying they’re “all winners” when recounting what she felt her team needed to do to give themselves a chance to win.
“You can tell the experience that they have with a roster like that, they weren’t going to be afraid of the moment. I thought they had the pace going where they needed it in the [first half], a game in the 30s, keeping it low-scoring. I thought we really had to make an adjustment in the second half to be able to pick up our pace. Especially defensively, once we were able to get going, that led to a lot of great things on the offensive end.”
A three-pointer before the end of the first half trimmed Maryland’s deficit to two points entering halftime, giving them momentum moving forward.
The game immediately shifted in Maryland’s favor to begin the second half as two quick three-pointers allowed them to retake the lead.
They began to create separation in the third, as Norfolk State was called for multiple fouls on jump shooters, leading to 12 free-throw attempts in the quarter.
“And, yeah, we made some mental mistakes. We really did. But this group won 30 games this year, 27 games last year, 26 games the year before, and we still walk into these things lacking respect from the three people on the floor,” said Spartans head coach Larry Vickers.
And I’m not going to complain about officiating. That’s not what I’m going to do. But when y’all see these Spartan heads in your gym, I think we should get a little bit more respect than we get. That’s unfortunate.”
Ending the fourth trailing 60-52, Norfolk State battled back by hitting consecutive buckets to bring deficit down to four points.
However, Maryland’s three-point shooting continued to bite them. They hit 4-of-6 in the final stanza, allowing them to keep the lead without trailing for the remainder of the contest.
Norfolk State ends the 2024-2025 season with a single-season best 30-5 overall record, receiving their highest-ever NCAA tournament seed and the best of any HBCU since Hampton in 2014.
Norfolk State head coach Larry Vickers took time to reflect on his team’s remarkable accomplishments, thinking back to when he took over in his current role.
“Some of you know my story,” said Vickers. “I was the associate head men’s basketball coach; our team was 0-19, and our AD Marty Miller fired our coach at the end of January and asked me to coach the rest of the season. We went from 0-19 to 3-7, and nine years later, I’m sitting here 30-4. You know 30-4 is no easy feat, I think we were one of the first teams in the country to get to 20 [wins]. We grinded day by day; we did it the right way.”
Vickers also complimented Johnson’s contributions to the Spartans and pleaded for her to be a finalist for mid-major awards, including the Dawn Staley Award and Nancy Lieberman Award.
“She needs to be on every mid-major finalist list, every Dawn Staley award winner finalist list, Nancy Lieberman finalist list,” he said.
“She’s super special, and she doesn’t average 25. If you saw us play today, we looked to execute in half-court. We don’t play super fast; we want precision on both ends. And I don’t feel like that was recognized enough.”
