South Carolina women's basketball vs. Norfolk State in March Madness: What to know about Gamecocks’ opponent
The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks will host Norfolk State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks will look to continue their undefeated streak into March Madness after defeating the Tennessee Lady Vols for the SEC Title. They'll also strive to win the tournament for the second consecutive year after defeating UConn for the national title in 2022.
Here's everything to know about Norfolk State ahead of its first-round game against South Carolina on Friday.
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Where is Norfolk State?
The Norfolk State Spartans hail from Norfolk, Virginia. They play in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.
MEAC standings & NET rankings
After defeating the Howard Bisons for the conference title last weekend, Norfolk State earned its first March Madness bid since 2002.
Norfolk State women's basketball has a NET ranking of 164 with no wins in Quadrants 1 and 2, two wins in Quadrant 3 and 32 wins in Quadrant 4 per WarrenNolan.com.
Who leads the stats for Norfolk State?
Senior Camille Downs and sophomore Kierra Wheeler are two of the Spartans' top scorers for the season.
Downs leads the team with 11.9 points per game with a 78.6 free-throw percentage. She transferred to Norfolk State after spending a season at UNC Wilmington and Butler Country CC. Wheeler isn't far behind Downs in points, averaging 11 points per game, but leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game.
Kierra Wheeler was awarded Most Outstanding Player in the conference title game while Downs scored six points with seven rebounds.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball in March Madness: What to know about Norfolk State
