DURHAM, N.C. — Graduate student Necole Hope made a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left in regulation to break a late tie and propel the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team to a 65-61 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division victory over Norfolk State University Thursday afternoon.
 
Junior Kiyana Brown added one made free throw with 14.5 seconds to go to make it a three-point lead for the Eagles and the Spartans missed a couple of consecutive potential game-tying 3-point attempts in the finals seconds.
 
Hope finished with 15 points, which was just two shy of her season-high total. Brown followed with 13 points. Sophomore Anissa Rivera logged her eighth double-double of the season with game-high totals of 18 points, 13 rebounds, seven steals and three blocks.
 
Hope swished all three of her 3-point attempts in the first half and Rivera scored 16 of her 18 points in the first 20 minutes to stake NCCU to a 39-32 halftime advantage. The Eagles shot 46.4-percent from the field in the first half and only committed only nine turnovers.
 
Trailing 22-18, NCCU scored 11 straight points early in the second quarter to jump into the lead for the rest of the half. The run featured five straight points by Rivera before Hope drilled two consecutive treys.
 
The Eagles continued to lead 51-47 after the third quarter and they scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to double up that advantage to eight points. Norfolk State followed with an 11-2 run to take its only lead of the second half at 58-57. The Spartans would also tie the score twice late, including a baseline pull-up jumper by sophomore Camryn Platt-Morris to level the score with 44 seconds left before Hope drew a foul on an offensive rebound and then she put the Eagles back ahead for good with two conversions from the charity stripe with 23 ticks on the clock.
 
Freshman Paris McBride scored six points, including a pair of free throws with just three-tenths of a second left to seal the triumph. McBride also handed out four assists. Hope added four steals and four rebounds to her 15-point performance. Brown and Williams chipped in five rebounds apiece as NCCU outrebounded Norfolk State, 41-36.
 
The Eagles finish the regular season at 4-11 overall and 2-6 in the league to earn the No. 3 seed in the Southern Division. The Spartans head into the league tournament with ledgers of 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference for the No. 2 seed in the south.
 
NC Central will next play in the 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena with the quarterfinals to be played on Thursday, March 11. Full bracket and tourney info will be posted on NCCUEaglePride.com.