North Carolina A&T closed out the WNIT with a 74-69 loss to Towson Saturday night at the Towson Center. Despite losing two of the three games in the prestigious tournament, the Aggies are not alarmed. They were competitive in all three games, and in two of the three games, they were playing on the opposing teams home floor.

The early concerns are free throw shooting in the clutch and finding a rhythm offensively. Ta'Wuana Cook led the Aggies with 25 points and four assists. She is now four assists shy of becoming the Aggies all-time leader in assists. Lamona Smalley had 15 points and eight rebounds.

“This was a winnable game,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “But we didn't knock down those crucial foul shots. I think we are still trying to find our way. We're still looking for the right rotations that work for us. But seeing this type of competition early is only going to help us.”

The WNIT included 11 teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Tigers returned four starters from a team that went 17-13 last season. Despite that, the Aggies jumped out to an early 12-0 lead before the Tigers adjusted to their pressure and ran out to a 39-30 halftime lead.

 Behind the play of Cook, the Aggies climbed back into the game. A 3-point play and a 3-point basket by Cook ignited an 11-0 run to give the Aggies a 48-44 with 12:48 to play. The Aggies would go a little more than five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Tigers to take a 59-53 lead.

The Tigers lead would grow to as many as nine before the Aggies made a late push. Two Smalley free throws cut the lead to four at 68-64 with a little more than a minute remaining. Jessica Haywood answered with a layup on the other end to give the Tigers a 70-64 lead with 56 seconds remaining.

Jaleesa Sams would find Smalley for a layup on the next possession to cut Towson's lead back to four. But 30 seconds later, Charmonique Watt put the game away with a 3-pointer that gave the Tigers a 73-66 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Things may have been different for the Aggies down the stretch, but they went 8-for-15 from the free throw line over the final 10 minutes of the game.

“Road games are tough, but they allow us to grow,'' said Bibbs. “But we had enough free throws tonight to win the ball game. When it is all said and done, I believe we will be one of the best free throw shooting teams in our conference.”

The Aggies (1-2) will play in the New Mexico Tournament starting on Friday.