DAVIDSON – There is a scratch and claw and survival attitude championship teams must have in order to advance in conference and NCAA tournaments. The North Carolina A&T women's basketball team plans to do both this season, and they were given a dress rehearsal Tuesday night at Davidson.
The Aggies overcame two double-digit second-half deficits to defeat the Wildcats 62-57 at Belk Arena. Eboni Ross led the Aggies with 17 points on 13-for-20 shooting from the free throw line. She also tied a career high with 16 rebounds, six coming on the offensive end, as the Aggies outscored the Wildcats 18-7 in second-chance points.
"Eboni demanded the ball tonight," said A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson. "With her size and her talent and what God has blessed her with, she's got to take advantage of it. She started being aggressive and calling for the ball. Either she scored or they had to foul her."
Ross was crucial in helping the Aggies get to overtime. She knocked 4-for-4 at the line during the Aggies 16-0 run that sent the game into overtime tied at 50. Once there, the Aggies (5-2), who struggled from the floor most of the night, found their rhythm. A&T opened the overtime with a jumper from junior Adriana Nazario.
Fifth-year guard Debbie Smith then then slashed through the Wildcats defense for a layup and freshman Michelle forced the Wildcats (3-4) to call timeout as she netted a 3-pointer from the elbow to give A&T a 57-50 with 2:38 remaining in overtime. Out of the timeout, Christina Carter dropped in a bounce pass to Ross. Ross muscled her away underneath the basket to give A&T a 59-50 advantage with 1:52 to play. Carter added a free throw to put the Aggies up 10.
It was an amazing turnaround for a team that shot 27 percent for the game, trailed 30-18 at halftime before rallying to make it 31-26 to open the second half before trailing again 48-34 with 8:08 remaining in regulation.
“I was happy that people who were given opportunities, took advantage of those opportunities,” said Robinson. “Everybody that got it in, when it was their moment to change the outcome of the game, they did.”
The Aggies played without all-conference center Aprill McRae, senior Ariel Bursey and freshman Kala Green. Therefore, players such as Fitzgerald and sophomore Whitney Martin were able to step in and make key shots for the Aggies. But Robinson is quick to send out the reminder that the foundation of his team and the reason for Tuesday's comeback was defense.
Robinson extended his defense full court with a little less than 10 minutes remaining. The first sign of trouble for the Wildcats was a turnover that led to a Debbie Smith three that cut Davidson's lead to 48-41 with 6:14 remaining. Two Ross free throws pulled the Aggies to within five before a Smith offensive rebound resulted in a Ross layup as Smith found her underneath to cut the lead to three at 48-45.
A Ross interception of a Mackenzie Latt pass kept the rally going as Ross' outlet pass landed in the hands of Smith who turned it into a fast-break layup and a 48-47 game with 4:12 to play. Two minutes later, Carter would give the Aggies their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer from the corner to make 50-48.
A&T guard Dana Brown tried to put the game away but missed a three, allowing for a long rebound and a transition layup by Dakota Dukes that tied the game at 50, eventually sending the game into overtime.
“I have to give it to Davidson, they were very prepared for us tonight,” said Robinson. “I thought we needed something to give us energy because our shots weren't falling. We decided to go to the run and jump (defense) and that kind of got our offense jump started.”
Hannah Early led the Wildcats with 13 points and six rebounds. Latt added 10 boards. The Aggies begin conference play 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6 at Howard.
“We know we didn't play our best in Mississippi,” said Robinson, referring to the loss the Aggies had at Southern Miss. “But the one thing we talk about is Lady Aggies bounce back after bad games. This one definitely gets us jump started going into conference play.”
