Koryn Lawrence

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Kourtney Williams scored a career-high 37 points to help host South Carolina State snap Norfolk State’s four-game winning streak, 79-75, on Saturday evening at the S-H-M Memorial Center.

Williams was 10-of-17 from the floor, 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and 15-of-17 from the free-throw line for the Lady Bulldogs (11-7, 4-3 MEAC), who shot 47 percent from the floor. Rae Corbo led NSU (6-12, 5-2) with 19 points and Koryn Lawrence added 18.

SCSU used a 10-0 run early in the second half to turn a 40-38 edge into a 50-38 cushion. Later in the period, an Ashleigh Outler field goal gave SCSU its largest lead of the game at 59-46 with 8:19 left.

Trailing 61-48, the Spartans made their move. Corbo scored eight straight Spartan points to trigger a 17-4 run. Nia Roberts also had back-to-back baskets, Ronesia Spicer converted a three-point play and Lawrence capped the burst with a layup that tied the game at 65-65 with 3:29 left to play.

But Williams proved to be too much, leading a 10-2 SCSU run that sealed the outcome. She hit a pair of free throws, teammate Amber Howard hit a trey, and then Williams hit a layup and a 3-pointer on two straight possessions to push SCSU’s advantage to 75-67 with just over a minute to play.

NSU forward Kayla Roberts hit two 3-pointers in the final minute to make things interesting, but the Spartans couldn’t get any closer than three.

The Spartans led by as many as five points early in the first half. But with NSU leading 19-18, SCSU used a 9-0 run to take control of the game just before halftime. Two Williams free throws with 51 seconds left in the period gave the Lady Bulldogs a 34-27 halftime lead.

NSU hit the 70-point mark for the third consecutive game. The Spartans had a season-low 10 turnovers and shot 42 percent from the floor Saturday, including 50 percent in the second half. Corbo was 6-of-11 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long range, and 4-of-5 from the foul line. Lawrence hit 7-of-13 from the floor and made all four of her free throws.

Nia Roberts scored a career-high 12 points to go with six boards, two assists and two blocks for the Spartans. Kayla Roberts had nine points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Jazamine Gray handed out a game-high nine assists.

Howard scored 11 points, while Outler and Jasmine Coleman added 10 apiece for SCSU.

The Spartans remain in second place in the MEAC and are just one loss behind first-place Hampton (5-1 MEAC), which dropped its first conference game of the season Saturday to Savannah State (4-2 MEAC). NSU travels to Georgia to face that same SSU squad Monday night. Tip-off is at 5:45 p.m.