Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s girls’ basketball team got a huge win on the road Thursday night against Norfolk Christian.

The Lady Saints were able to get a 60-51 victory. By all measures, the win came as an upset for Norfolk Christian, as they were the current leaders in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools and also considered among the best girls’ basketball teams in Hampton Roads.

In the first meeting, NSA lost 48-42, which created a possibility for another close battle when the two teams met Thursday night.

After the end of the first quarter, the game was in the hands of Norfolk Christian, 14-13. In the second quarter, the Lady Saints shifted momentum into their favor, taking the second quarter 14-8. At the half the Lady Saints were 27-22.

Going into the fourth quarter, NSA had a 41-36 lead. They started to build on that lead, even going up by as much as 12 points. Norfolk Christian tried hard to fight back, but it wasn’t enough, ending in an nine-point victory for the Lady Saints.

Lindsay Knierbein and Kelly Hogan grabbed double-doubles for NSA. Knierbein led in scoring with 18 points and added 12 rebounds. Hogan added 14 points and 17 rebounds.

“We played really well and played very hard,” Lady Saints coach Kim Aston said. “They were undefeated in TCIS play, so that was a big win for us. They made a couple of runs at us, and we were able to hold them off.”

NSA was previously coming off of a loss against Tallwood last week Aston believes this win against Norfolk Christian can help the team muster up another win streak. With the win Thursday night, the Lady Saints moved to 8-7 on the season.

“Our goal is to win the TCIS, so we are kind of approaching it one game at a time,” Aston said. “This was a big win, but we still have a few more big ones to go.”

After the game, the team was excited. One of the main things they wanted to do this year is to show they can win big games without the two All-State players they had on the team in previous years.

“We lost a lot from last year, but the girls believe they can still win,” Aston said. “With the pieces we have we feel we can still make a run at it. I think this win gives us some confidence going into our matchup with Cape Henry.”

NSA collected 14 assists total and limited Norfolk Christian to 34 percent shooting.

“It was such an exciting win, and the effort my team bought on the court was amazing,” Lady Saint Logan Harrell said. “We fought really hard, and I’m so proud of the way we played.”

NSA 60   Norfolk Christian 51

Knierbein 18pts 12rebs, Hogan 14pts 17rebs, Harrell 11pts, Brown 9pts, Saunders 4pts, Aston 2, Herrod 2