Daily dribble

Tuesday's highlights include by a pair of victories by teams that have typically found those hard to come by, a near-miss by Liberty and one-half of a solid effort by the VCU Rams.

Tuesday's action

Norfolk State 57, Savannah State 45
In more ways that one, this victory was a Long time coming. The Spartans (2-5) came in having dropped 24 straight road/neutral court games since a 69-45 decision at Winston-Salem St. on Feb. 25, 2008. But NSU sophomore guard Whitney Long took care of that, as she blitzed the Lady Tigers for a career-high 30 points. Her output included a 11-of-12 effort from the free throw line, which was hardly a surprise since she began play with the highest free-throw percentage of any D-I player in the state (83.3). Long's play was indicative of the Spartans' effort on a night where, as is often the case, the more aggressive team prevailed. The Spartans made 31 trips to the free throw line, the Lady Tigers only five.

Longwood 72, Campbell 55
The Lancers (3-8) may not win many, but when they do prevail, they do it in a big way - their three victories have come by an average of 16 points and each one has been by double figures. Krystal Garrison had career highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) as the Lancers improved to 3-2 at home.

Auburn 70, Liberty 64
The Lady Flames (6-2) finally ran into a team it couldn't outrebound or contain defensively as the Lady Tigers became the first team to score 70 on Liberty in 35 games. The Lady Flames made it interesting, though, as Devon Brown (19 points, 8 rebounds) led a second-half rally that cut a 14-point deficit to three.

VCU 65, Winthrop 51
A 15-point victory on the road is nothing to apologize for, although the Rams (5-2) ought to be chagrined by 14-percent shooting in the second half. On the bright side it was another big night for D'Andra Moss, who notched a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) and made all 10 of her free throws.