Norfolk State announces pair of women’s basketball signees

Norfolk State coach Jermaine Woods announced the signing of TaNya Henson, a 6-foot-2 forward from Menchville High who will join the Spartans for the 2027-28 season, as well as Natalya Wooten, a 5-10 combo guard from South County High in Lorton.

As a junior, she was named to the Class 5 all-state second team, All-Class 5 Region B first team and All-Tidewater third team. As a sophomore, she earned all-region first-team honors and All-Peninsula District second-team recognition.

Henson, a frequent honor-roll student, has averaged a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds per game, along with three to four blocks per contest. Wooten, also an honor-roll student, is one of the top two-way guards in Northern Virginia and was a first-team all-state pick last season.

Christopher Newport (21-8) swept tournament host Mary Washington 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-23), advancing to the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference championship match in Fredericksburg.

CNU will face UC Santa Cruz at 3 p.m. Saturday. The third-seeded Banana Slugs won 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23) over No. 2 seed Salisbury, which will face UMW for third place at noon.

Avery Hanly had 11 kills and 11 digs for CNU, while Lauren Hobbs had 20 assists.

In the first round, Mary Washington ousted Regent 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-9, 25-18) despite Claire Keefer’s 19 kills and Rylee Stewart’s 32 assists for the Royals.

Big East tourney champion Old Dominion saw its season end with a 4-0 loss Friday at No. 3 Harvard in the NCAA round of 16.

Lara Beekhui scored in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, with 11:56 remaining, the Crimson (16-2) were awarded a corner and Emily Bronckers scored.

After ODU coach Andrew Griffiths pulled goalie Suus Broers for an extra attacker with less than five minutes remaining, Sage Piekarski scored twice in the final two minutes. The Monarchs finished 15-5, and Harvard will play host to a quarterfinal at 1 p.m. Sunday against Massachusetts. UMass ousted sixth-seeded Yale 1-0.

No. 1 seed Liberty topped No. 2 seed Western Kentucky 3-1 in Newark, Delaware, to secure a second consecutive Conference USA championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Flames (16-2-3) got two goals from Halle Engle and a game-winning goal from Margaret Garner.

Virginia Tech’s men were third, while the Hokies’ women were fourth and Virginia’s women claimed fifth place at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Emma Lindner (19:44.5) led the Hokies’ women by placing 17th in the 6-kilometer race. Tatum David led the Cavaliers with a 24th-place finish in 19:50.7. Both earned all-region awards.

NC State’s Hannah Gapes remained undefeated, powering the Wolfpack women to their 10th straight regional title with an 18:42.2 time. NC State (71), South Carolina (100), Clemson (105), Virginia Tech (137) and UVA (139) comprised the top five.

Wake Forest’s men repeated as champs, while Louisville’s Elsingi Kipruto won the individual title in 28:20.3. The Hokies’ George Couttie was second in 28:36.8. Wake (72), Eastern Kentucky (104) and Virginia Tech (105) were the top three teams.

Henry Acorn paced the ninth-place UVA men, completing the 10K in 29:37.5 to finish 25th and gain all-region honors.

Norfolk State freshman Clinton Kipruto finished 14th among 258 men with the fastest 10K time in Spartans history, 29:24.3, to earn all-region honors. The NSU men finished 17th out of 44 teams with 446 points.

For men and women, the top two in each of nine regionals earn automatic NCAA team bids, and 14 at-large bids per gender also qualify. The Virginia Tech men and the UVA and Hokies women will have realistic chances for those.

James Madison President James Schmidt on Friday announced a contract extension for Matt Roan under the new title of Vice President and Director of Athletics with a new term through June 30, 2031. Roan has been JMU’s AD since April 2024.…Read more by Staff Reports