Jan. 9, 2008

Some people don't believe in fate in beating a Division I team, but that's what took over on Wednesday night in McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium, as the Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central University did with a surprising 58-44 victory over Norfolk State University.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!" exclaimed Head Coach Joli Robinson. "It was a good win for us against a Division I team."

The Lady Eagles has won all three games at home. "It was good to see a great crowd here tonight, the girls worked and played hard in front of our fans," stated Coach Robinson.

But it didn't take long to realize this game was going to be back-and-forth all night long. NCCU was not fazed, however, as the Spartans kept clawing back behind the shooting of Areya Walker. NSU took a lead 10-7 by Ashley Compton's Jumper allowed Norfolk State to gain a lead at 10-7 with 13:50 left in the half. As for the Spartans of Norfolk State University, they were led by Areya Walker's 11 points and nine rebounds.

NCCU was led by LaVonna Hailey, with 13 points to lead all scorers, while Latoya Bennett had a double-double performance of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Jennifer Hukill also had 12 points going 3 for 8 from behind the arch.

Both teams struggled in the first half with their shooting. NCCU shot 8-of-24 for 33 percent, while Norfolk State shot 39 percent on 9-of-23 from the field. The difference was in the turnover department. Norfolk produced 24 turnovers while the Lady Eagles committed 19, a team low.

NCCU finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field, and held Norfolk State to a mere 27 percent.

The Lady Eagles' defense kicked into high gear by forcing NSU into missing short jumpers in the final two minutes.