BUIES CREEK – The North Carolina A&T women's basketball team had a tough 56-55 road loss to Campbell University Wednesday afternoon. The Aggies (0-2) can't afford to dwell on the tough loss because they have to travel to Annapolis, Md., to play a solid Navy team. That doesn't mean, however, they're not going to lessons from it with the first lesson being, make the most of every possession.
Do not settle for jump shots, and in a close ballgame, making free throws is crucial.
“It really stings,” said N.C. A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson when looking at the game's box score and seeing the Aggies shot 10-for-18 from the foul line and lost by one point.
Graduate guard Adriana Nazario did hit two free throws with 4:21 remaining in the game to give the Aggies a 52-51 lead. Makala Rouse put the Camels (2-1) up for good with a score in the lane. N.C. A&T did have two opportunities on its next possession to regain the lead as Nazario had her shot blocked out of bounds by Amanda Coffer. Dana Brown then rebounded a miss by teammate Christina Carter, but the possession eventually ended in a turnover.
Carter gave the Aggies another chance to go in front as she intercepted a RaeChaun Edwards pass, which led to Graduate center Aprill McRae being fouled by Coffer with 2:45 remaining. But McRae missed both free throws. Campbell took advantage as Coffer knocked down a jump shot to extend the Camels lead to 55-52 with 2:17 to play.
Despite the close game, the clock began to work against the Aggies as their next three possessions resulted in a missed layup, a turnover and a missed 3-pointer. Still, the Camels' struggles at the free throw line extended into crunch time as Brianna Cribb missed two free throws with 23 seconds remaining. But Kayla Green's missed 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining and Summer Price's free throw for Campbell sealed the win.
“We wasted a lot of possessions when you look at we had 20 offensive rebounds and shot the ball 20 more times than Campbell,” said Robinson. “We shot poorly from three, but I also think we settled for those 24 attempts. We needed to have gotten the ball inside or attack the basket.”
Dana Brown led the Aggies with 12 points. After falling behind 20-13 in the first quarter, the Camels extended that lead to 25-15 on a Coffer jumper. The Camels took their biggest lead of the first half thanks to a Coffer 3-pointer that extended the Camels lead to 33-22 with 1:50 remaining in the first half. N.C. A&T closed the half on a 7-0 run thanks to threes from Green and Brown.
“I thought we started off slow in the first quarter, and allowed Campbell to really build momentum,” said Robinson. “We've got to regroup and go to Annapolis and try to get our first win of the season.”
