NORFOLK — Norfolk State opened MEAC women’s basketball play with a split that captured both ends of its early-season reality: the promise of what the Spartans can be and the work still required to sustain it.
After a convincing road win at North Carolina Central to open conference action, Norfolk State couldn’t carry that momentum home Thursday night, falling 63-60 to Maryland Eastern Shore in its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference home opener at Echols Hall.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 1-1 in league play and underscored the inconsistency first-year coach Jermaine Woods said his team must eliminate if it wants to contend deep into March.
“We weren’t the tougher team,” Woods said after the loss. “We’re more talented. We won’t lose to them again. … And they were more physical.”
UMES (9-10, 2-0 MEAC) controlled much of the first half behind physical play and timely responses. Norfolk State struggled to find offensive rhythm early, shooting just 7 of 28 (25%) from the field in the opening half. Da’Brya Clark kept the Spartans afloat, scoring eight of their 10 first-quarter points, but the Hawks carried a 27-20 lead into the locker room.
The contrast was stark compared to Norfolk State’s opener at NCCU, a 68-48 win in which Woods said his team played connected, hungry and engaged from the opening tip. Against UMES, that cohesion didn’t surface until after halftime, following what Woods described as a pointed locker-room conversation about effort, connectivity and collective purpose.
The Spartans (6-11, 1-1 MEAC) responded with urgency in the third quarter. After UMES pushed its lead to 12 early in the period, Norfolk State surged back with a 24-8 run, stringing together stops to flip the game. A pair of scoring bursts — a 12-4 stretch followed by a 7-0 run — helped NSU take a narrow 46-45 edge into the fourth.
But the physical tone of the game caught up with the Spartans late. Woods said the effort required to claw back took its toll on them down the stretch.
“We got pushed around, and it’s as simple as that,” Woods said. “We can’t hold a team to 31% shooting and 2-for-14 from 3 and lose. … We gotta keep being the best defensive team in the conference. Players gotta make plays and we got to put them in a situation to make plays.”
The final minute reflected the night’s margin. Clark attacked the basket to cut the deficit, and Anjanae Richardson found Jasha Clinton for a tying layup with 31 seconds left. But UMES’ Brianna Barnes answered with a contested drive to reclaim the lead, and Clark’s floater on the final possession fell short.
Clark finished with a game-high 18 points, while LeAire Nicks added 10. Norfolk State shot 31.7% overall.
Despite the result, Woods pointed to resilience — something the Spartans showed earlier in the week at NCCU and again during Thursday’s third-quarter rally.
“I think we’ve got a resilient group,” he said. “They want to win. They fight hard. It’s not for lack of effort, but sometimes we’ve got to execute better.”
That execution, particularly over a full 40 minutes, remains the challenge ahead. Woods said Norfolk State was far more connected in the second half than the first, a pattern that mirrored the difference between its first two conference games.
“We can’t lose in the fourth quarter,” Woods said. “We have to win. We’ve done a better job of that through the season — finishing games — so we have to get back in the lab and coach them up.”
The Spartans will look to do just that Saturday when they travel to Delaware State, hoping the lessons from their first two conference games begin to translate into consistency.