SAVANNAH, Ga. – Tarrell Robinson's North Carolina A&T women's basketball team picked a good time to win its first road game of the season. N.C. A&T did pick up two wins at neutral sites this season.
Junior Dana Brown recovered from missing her first four shots to finish with 19 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range to lead the Aggies to a 69-59 road win over the defending MEAC champion Savannah State Tigers at Tiger Arena Saturday afternoon. After struggling on the boards against their last Division I opponent – VCU – the Aggies outrebounded the Tigers 51-32.
“Rebounding and getting second chance points is something we talked about going into the game,” said Robinson, who improved his record in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play to 40-11. “Dana Brown came up big for us and played big for us.”
The Aggies (6-8, 2-1 MEAC) had trouble with the duo of Jeremica Edwards and Kenyata Hendrix had nine and eight points respectively to help the Tigers take a 31-28 halftime lead.
“I thought they came out with more energy than us to start the game,” said Robinson. “When you're trying to win on the road you need energy, so that's what we talked about. You're not going to steal games on the road, especially in the conference, unless you play with a sense of urgency.”
N.C. A&T opened the second half on a 16-2 run to take a 45-33 lead. The run was aided by a 3-pointer by Kala Green and five Savannah State turnovers that led to six Aggie points. The start to the fourth quarter was also prosperous for N.C. A&T. Brown netted back-to-back 3-pointers for a 54-38 lead with 9:13 to play. The Aggies held Savannah State (3-10, 0-2) to just three field goals over the first 13 minutes of play in the second half.
The Aggies held the Tigers to 31 percent shooting in the second half, but did give up 21 fourth quarter points. Along with better defense, Robinson also wants his team to take better care of the ball. They turned it over 20 times. “We've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball when we go to South Carolina State,” said Robinson. “I also thought 59 points was a lot to give up for a team trying to win on the road.”
Hendrix led the Tigers with 21 points. Edwards had 12. The win somewhat avenged a heartbreaking loss the Aggies had to the Tigers in the 2015 MEAC tournament semifinal game in Norfolk, Va.
Aggie fifth-year senior Christina Carter, the MEAC's assist leader, finished with eight assists. Sophomore Michelle Fitzgerald had eight points and seven rebounds. The Aggies will head to Orangeburg, S.C., looking for their second conference win and subsequently their second road win of the season.
“Winning is better than losing going to Orangeburg,” said Robinson. “It's always a tough game down there.”
