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NORFOLK, Va. – Sophomore guard Jordan Frazier scored a career-high 20 points and the Wofford women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to tie the game, but came up short, 67-59, at Norfolk State, Sunday afternoon from Echols Hall.
Wofford (1-3) was outrebounded 32-12 in the first half and held to two points through the last 8:33 to trail 38-23 at halftime. After being benched with early foul trouble, sophomore guard Ashton Fleming sparked a comeback. Fleming scored the first basket of the second half and Wofford tied the game at 42 with a 15-0 run in the first six minutes.
Norfolk State (2-2) responded and regained a 10-point lead, but the Terriers cut it back down to four and called a timeout down 61-57 with 1:28 to play. A turnover followed and NSU got the ball back and hit its free throws to hold on for the win.
Frazier, who just came off a career-high 17 points in Wofford's last game at Charleston Southern, scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half on 6-of-11 shooting. The Norcross, Ga., native also finished the game with four steals and three assists.
Sophomore guard Chanel Stokes lit up from 3-point range in the second half. After being held without a point in the opening 20 minutes, Stokes scored 14 in the second and finished the game 4-fo-6 from beyond the arc. Fleming scored eight points and had five rebounds, all in the second half, while senior guard Logan Morris had nine points, seven boards and two blocks.
For Norfolk State, Rae Corbo and Quineshia Leonard each scored a team-high 14 points. Rachel Gordon was huge on the glass for the Spartans, grabbing 15 rebounds. Logan Powell had eight points and eight boards.
On the afternoon, Wofford shot 36.5 percent from the field to NSU's 35.1 percent. The Terriers were 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from 3-point range and great from the free throw line, draining 14 of 15 attempts (93.3 percent) to mark their first 90-percent outing since Jan. 5, 2012 against Samford. Norfolk State only outrebounded the Terriers by one in the second half, but finished the game with 50 to Wofford's 29, leading to a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points.
A close game early saw Morris hit her first 3-pointer at the 15:09 mark, and the Terriers forced a Spartan turnover and turned it into two points for a 13-12 lead. NSU changed to a full-court press and forced a couple Terrier turnovers to regain a 17-13 advantage, but Frazier made her presence felt with a steal and a layup to keep Wofford within striking distance.
Halfway through the period, both teams were on fire, shooting above 50 percent from the field. Frazier got to 14 points at the 7:40 mark with a bucket and a foul, getting Wofford back within a basket, 23-21.
For the next three minutes neither side could find a point until NSU ended the drought with layups form Powell and Leonard. Wofford remained cold, unable to break NSU's 2-3 zone, committing multiple shot clock violations, turnovers and missed baskets. Still, the deficit was just six after not scoring for five minutes.
Then, Norfolk State got hot. The Spartans scored nine points over the next three minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from Kierra Basey, and led 36-21 as Coach Farmer called timeout with 1:48 on the clock. Kirby ended a Wofford scoreless drought of 7:27 with a made jumper, but NSU took the momentum into the locker room as Corbo hit a jumper to put the home side back up 15 just before the first-half horn sounded.
At the half, the Terriers were being outrebounded by 20. Gordon and Powell each had seven boards for the Spartans, while Leonard had 10 points. Frazier led all players with 14 points, but Wofford's leading rebounder was Lauren Kirby with just a pair.
Fleming got back on the floor to start the second half and made an immediate impact, making a layup 14 seconds in and grabbing a rebound off NSU's first possession.
The run was on. Down 15, Stokes drained a 3-pointer and the Terriers scored the next 15 points to tie the score at 42 with 14:18 still left in the ball game. The run included another made 3-pointer from Stokes and a pair of 3-pointers from Morris, the second bringing the Terriers back even.
Norfolk State put together a response and scored the next seven points until another Stokes made 3-pointer ended the run. NSU got its lead back up to 10 at 61-51, but four made free throws and a bucket by Fleming brought it right back down to four with 2:48 on the clock.
Wofford got the ball back after a NSU missed 3-point attempt, but a fast-break opportunity for Frazier went by the wayside. The Terriers were fortunate enough to get the ball back again, still down just four, but a turnover out of a timeout with under 1:30 to play gave the Spartans an opportunity to cushion the lead from the charity stripe. They did just that, going 6-of-7 down the stretch to hold off Wofford's comeback.
The Wofford women's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 30, hosting NC Central at 5 p.m. The game is part of a Terrier basketball doubleheader. The men's team hosts Johnson and Wales in the front end at 2 p.m.
Terrier Notes
- Jordan Frazier scored a career-high 20 points, a game after setting her career high with 17 against Charleston Southern.
- Frazier becomes Wofford's first 20-point scorer of the season, and is the first Terrier to score 20 in a game since Morgan Wrightson scored 25 on March 2 against Furman.
- Wofford shot 93.3 percent from the free throw line (14-15), marking its best performance since Jan. 5, 2012, when the Terriers shot 95 percent (19-20) against Samford.
- The loss evens the all-time series between Wofford and Norfolk State, 2-2. The home team has won every contest.
