GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T's fast start on Monday made the remainder of the game mystifying. Maryland Eastern Shore were 56-50 winners in women's basketball action at Corbett Sports Center. Junior Dana Brown led the Aggies in scoring for the second straight game as she finished with 19 points on four 3-pointers. Graduate transfer Courtney Powell finished with a season-high 11 rebounds.
The Aggies dropped to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the MEAC, while UMES improved to 3-5 and 1-1.
But most who sat and watched the first six minutes of the game it looked like the Aggies were going to deliver an early knockout to the Hawks. The Hawks missed their first eight shots and trailed 13-0 over that span.
A Brown 3-pointer made it 18-3 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Perhaps it was the entry of UMES guard Ciani Byrom. Or maybe it was missed opportunities by the Aggies or perhaps the Aggies struggled against the Hawks defense. Whatever the case, the tone of the game seemed to change after Brown's three.
Byrom came off the bench to score the Hawks first eight points including a 3-pointer. A Shauntesha Bryant steal led to a Moengaroa Subritzky 3-pointer before Byrom hit two free throws to help the Hawks end the quarter on a 10-0 that made it 18-13.
The Aggies would keep their lead through most of the fourth quarter before Byrom hit a runner in the lane to give the Hawks a 26-25 lead with 2:20 remaining in the half. Whitney Martin found an open Adriana Nazario for a 3-pointer that quickly gave N.C. A&T the lead back, but TeAmber Burke's three gave UMES a 29-28 halftime lead.
UMES took its momentum into the third quarter and led by as many as 12 in the third as Subritzky's 3-pointer put the Hawks ahead 46-34 with a minute to play in the quarter. The lead would grow to 14 in the fourth quarter. N.C. A&T did cut the lead to six, 53-47, on a Christina Carter 3-pointer, but there was only 45 seconds remaining.
A&T will step out of conference play for a while as they travel to Ohio State to play the Buckeyes, Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.
