Call it a case of the first-round blahs. Lack of sharpness is a malady known to sometimes afflict No. 1 seeds in the opening rounds of conference tournaments. Norfolk State suffered from

Kierra Wheeler scored 20 points and conference player of the year Diamond Johnson added 18 as Norfolk State cruised to an 81-55 win over eighth-seeded South Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC women’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Scope Arena.

The Spartan women overcame a slow start to roll past South Carolina State, 81-55, in the conference quarterfinals at Scope Arena.