WICHITA, Kan. – The apparent improvement of the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team continues to be evident after fighting back from a double-digit second-half deficit before coming up short at Wichita State, 55-53, in the final game of the 2015 Papa John's Winter Classic hosted by WSU Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
Dana Brown's 3-pointer misfired with six seconds remaining to secure the win for the Shockers (3-7).
Redshirt senior Christina Carter led A&T with 16 points. Brown added 11. Brown and Aprill McRae made the all-tournament team. The Aggies dropped to 4-7 on the season, but looked extremely competitive at Wichita State's tournament. The main source of the Aggies strength was their resilience. They trailed in the second half against North Dakota State before battling back to win. They trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before the game would come down to the wire.
Turning Point
The Shockers led 44-30 with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter. They had a chance to go up even more but TaQuandra Mike's 3-pointer didn't fall and Carter took the best of the opportunity by hitting a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 11. Jaleesa Chapel did respond by scoring inside, but a big 3-point play by Aggies center Aprill McRae seemed to give the Aggies a charge. McRae completed the 3-point play to cut the lead to 46-36. McRae followed the big 3-point play with a layup at the third-quarter buzzer to get the lead under 10.
The Aggies trailed 48-40 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but a Brown three followed by another Carter 3-pointer had the Shockers lead down to two. N.C. A&T had not been that close since the second quarter. Carter was not finished, however, as she scored on a three to give the Aggies their first lead since it was 5-4 with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.
The Shockers scored the next four points to take a 52-49 lead with 2:13 to play. Carter, who scored 15 of her 16 in the second half, scored again to pull the Aggies to within one. After a Chapel free throw put the Shockers ahead two, 53-51, with 48 ticks on the clock, Carter tied the game with two free throws.
Sixteen seconds later, Michelle Fitzgerald was called for a foul on Marija Paca. Paca hit one of two free throws to put the Shockers up one, setting up Brown's unsuccessful 3-point attempt.
Player of the Game
Christina Carter hit a season-high three 3-pointers. All three of those shots came in the final 11 minutes of the game as the Aggies rallied from a 14-point deficit.
Stats of the Game
The Aggies are most effective when they are getting points from their bench. The Aggies had only seven bench points against the Shockers. The Aggies are 4-0 when they score at least 25 points off their bench this season.
Christina Carter scored in double figures for the first time in since Dec. 2, 2015 when she had 17 points against North Greenville.
The Aggies starters were Courtney Powell, Aprill McRae, Dana Brown, Kala Green and Christina Carter. The Aggies have had six different starting lineups this season.
Next Game
The Aggies face Virginia Commonwealth University at Corbett Sports Center on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m.
