WINSTON-SALEM - In track and field it might not have turned out so well.
But on Wednesday afternoon, Whitney Wiley's shot put 3-point jump shot actually went in with 1.9 seconds remaining as the S.C. State women's basketball team upset top seeded North Carolina A&T 61-60 in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament played at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Wiley's shot was so inexplicable, it will likely have Aggie fans bewildered for days to come. After Tyronnica Alford hit one of two free throws to give the Aggies 60-58 advantage with 13 seconds to play, the Aggies defensive effort down the floor looked like it would be enough to advance to Friday's semifinal game.
Ta'Wuana Cook was all over Wiley. Wiley leaned into Cook trying to draw a foul while shooting the basketball. Cook stood her ground. Therefore, Wiley's attempt at drawing a foul turned into an awkward launch reminiscent of a shot put throw. It might as well been a gold medal throw because Wiley's ugly shot actually went in.
"It didn't get down to the last shot,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. "It got down to the fact that we didn't put two halves together. We missed a lot of easy shots around the basket, and we missed free throws."
Indeed, the Bulldogs played with a sense of urgency all afternoon. Even when the Aggies appeared to have the Bulldogs in a position to blow them out on a Ta'Wuana Cook floater in the lane to give N.C. A&T a 35-23 three minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs fought back so hard they had a 47-41 lead with 8:01 to play.
Freshman Amber Calvin brought her team together during a media timeout to give them a fiery speech. The pep talk seemed to reignite the Aggies. Four minutes later, Jaleesa Sams found a cutting Calvin going to the basket for a layup and a 51-49 Aggies lead. Wiley quickly answered with a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 52-51 lead with 3:45 to play.
The two teams went back-and-forth before a Lamona Smalley spin move gave the Aggies a 59-56 lead with 50 seconds to play. The Bulldogs again found a way to stay alive. On their next trip down the floor, the Bulldogs grabbed three offensive boards before Paris Alston scored on a put back to put the Bulldogs down one, setting up the tremendous finish.
"It was a tough loss,'' said Bibbs. "But it happens in this game. We have truly been blessed as a team. We won the regular season, and when you do that the expectation is for you to do well in the tournament. But it just didn't happen for us today. These are the type of things that can happen in a tournament."
The Aggies become the first No. 1 seed in MEAC Tournament history to lose in the quarterfinals. But all is not lost. The Aggies will play in the WNIT as the MEAC regular-season champion representative. Calvin led the Aggies with 14 points and four assists. Cook added 11 points, while Smalley finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Greensboro native Paris Alston led the Bulldogs with 16 points and six rebounds.
"We didn't expect this loss, but we'll bounce back,'' said Cook. "We still have postseason play, so we just have to get back together and get ready."
