NORFOLK — The Battle of the Bay returns Friday with its usual intensity, but both Norfolk State basketball programs enter the rivalry eager for something far more practical: a course correction.

The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men follow at 8, with the Norfolk State and Hampton U men’s and women’s teams coming off uneven road swings and looking for a jolt in front of what’s expected to be a packed Echols Hall.

For Norfolk State’s women, the backdrop is familiar dominance — a 28-game home winning streak and five wins in the last six against Hampton — mixed with the urgency of a 2-4 start. All four losses came away from home, including three to nationally-ranked opponents. First-year coach Jermaine Woods said the matchup means what it always has meant in the 757.

“You can throw all

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