NORFOLK, Va. – Junior guard Kimeira Burks poured in her seventh made 3-pointer of the game on the opening possession of overtime and the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team never relinquished the lead in OT to pick up a wild 73-68 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference road win at Norfolk State University on Monday.
 
Burks scored a career-high 26 points with 21 of those points coming from long range. Her seven made 3-pointers is the most made by any Eagle in over a decade and is tied for second most in program history (tying seven made 3-pointers by Shanise Blanks on Jan. 10, 2010, against Shaw and trails only the nine 3-pointers made by Jennifer Hukill on Feb. 8, 2008, against Lincoln).
 
The sharpshooter from Chicago, Illinois, who had already made five 3-pointers in four different games this season, leads the MEAC in both 3-point field goal percentage (41.5%) and made 3-pointers per game (2.8). Burks also had four steals, three rebounds and two assists in NCCU's big road win.
 
NC Central improved its record to 10-12 on the season while reaching the midway point of league play with a winning 4-3 MEAC record. The triumph over the second-place team in the league standings moved the Eagles within one game of Norfolk State (17-5, 5-2) and Howard in the standings.
 
Freshman guard Jerni Kiaku continued her strong play for the maroon and gray with 17 points, which was her 14th double-digit performance of her rookie season.
 
NCCU won the battle of the board for only the second time in league play so far this season, edging NSU on the boards 60-58. Sophomore forward Morgan Callahan led the way by pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds and junior guard Tippy Robertson followed by yanking down 10 rebounds, both of which are new season-high totals. Callahan just missed a double-double with eight points.
 
Kiaku scored NCCU's first six points and a 3-pointer by Burks in the last minute of the first quarter provided the Eagles with a 15-12 edge after 10 minutes of play. NCCU then outscored the Spartans 8-2 before the media timeout of the second quarter to extend its lead to nine points at 23-14. Norfolk State responded with a 7-1 run after the media timeout to pull within one possession, 24-21, but a couple quick transition layups by Kiaku kept the Eagles ahead for the rest of the half.
 
Kiaku made seven of her 10 field goal attempts in the first half, leading NCCU to a 30-23 advantage at halftime. She scored 15 of her 17 points in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Eagles shot at least 40 percent in each of the first two quarters, but they came out of the locker room cold and the Spartans took advantage to rally ahead. NCCU was held to just 3 of 14 (21.4%) shooting from the field in the third quarter and Norfolk State scored 14 consecutive points to catapult into the lead.
 
However, NCCU found a hot hand behind the arc in Burks, who drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Eagles within one possession, 43-40, heading into the fourth quarter. Burks then swished another trey to start the scoring in the final stanza to tie the score. The two teams then battled closely to the end of regulation.
 
Burks banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 7.9 seconds to go to put NCCU up 60-59, but the Spartans made the back end of two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to tie the score for an eighth time and force overtime. Banks made four of her seven treys in the fourth quarter.
The seesaw affair also had 11 lead changes, but Burks connected on her seventh 3-pointer from the left wing just 20 seconds into the five-minute overtime period. That proved to be the game winning shot as NCCU's defense held Norfolk State to just one made field goal in OT before prevailing by five points.
 
Junior Blessing Okoh scored two consecutive baskets in the extra period to provide the Eagles with a little breathing room. Okoh scored four of her seven points and dished out two of her team-high four assists in overtime.
 
Graduate student Camille Downs led the Spartans with 21 points, including the game-tying free throw in the final moments of regulation, while filling up the box score with nine rebounds, five stelas, three assists and two blocks.
 
NC Central will next host Morgan State University in its Pink Game for breast cancer awareness on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.
 
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