PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WTKR) — In 2023, the Norfolk State women waited about a 30 seconds to find out its destination for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
This year, the Spartans had to hold their breath for much longer. The green and gold waiting more than 30 minutes while watching ESPN's broadcast to see their name come up.
Before they could, the stream of the show cut out on the projection screen.
"Took us through all the emotions," said NSU coach Larry Vickers with a laugh. "I'm not much of anxiety person, but that was stressful."
The team could see the show on a laptop, and that was enough to send them into a frenzy as they learned they'll head to Stanford for the first round of the Big Dance in a 2 vs. 15 matchup.
A 15-seed is a jump up for Norfolk State (27-5), which was a 16-seed last year.
"To be one of the last names called was very nerve-wracking," said Spartans junior forward Kierra Wheeler. "I'm telling my teammates, 'Move out of the way, I can't see.' But I'm just happy that our was name was called and we're not a 16-seed, we're moving one step up."
"When we saw the 14, 15, and 16 seeds, it was definitely a heart pump," said junior guard Diamond Johnson. "It just feels good to know that we're not a 16-seed and we got opportunity to be at 15-seed and that's just that's just a blessing."
After winning its second straight MEAC Tournament title on Saturday, NSU now turns its attention to the powerhouse Cardinal. Stanford (28-5) has made every NCAA Tournament since 1988 and has won three national championships in that span.
This season, the Cardinal's head coach Tara VanDerveer pass legendary Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to become the winningest coach in all of college basketball. She currently sits at 1,062 victories in her career.
"They're one of the best executing programs in the country," Vickers said. "You talk about the things historically that they've done, and they have tremendous players every year."
The game is set to be played at Maples Pavillion on Stanford's campus on Friday, Mar. 22. A tip time has yet to be announced.
"We're a tough team, we compete, and we're going to leave it all on the floor," Johnson said. "We really have nothing to lose at this point, so we're just going to play our hearts out and battle it out. "
