GREENSBORO (November 17, 2016) – Take away North Carolina A&T's second quarter Thursday night against Auburn, a team from the Power 5 conference SEC, and the Aggies are looking at a good outing against an excellent team. Unfortunately, second quarters are not taken away in women's basketball.
N.C. A&T's tough second quarter helped the Tigers come away with a 68-36 win at Corbett Sports Center. The Aggies (1-2) shot just 13 percent, turned the ball over 10 times and were outscored 25-5 in the second. As forgettable as the second was for the Aggies, it was very productive for Auburn (2-0). The Tigers shot 63 percent from the floor and dished out nine assists to just four turnovers.
“I thought our first quarter was encouraging,” said N.C. A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. “I thought we responded well coming out of halftime. The second and fourth quarters were rough. We were worn down and beat up. We've got to find ways to respond to situations like that, and that's why we schedule games like this.”
Robinson has built his women's basketball program to the point where the expectation is to reach the NCAA tournament. The Aggies were there last year where they lost to the No. 1 seed in the region, Notre Dame, at Notre Dame. Robinson thought his team was shell-shocked from all the hoopla and bright lights that come from playing a program like Notre Dame. Therefore, his schedule not only includes Auburn, but three top-25 teams in UCLA, West Virginia and Florida. UCLA is at home on Dec. 20.
“You can practice and prepare all you want, but there is nothing like getting game experience,” said Robinson. “I think they learned tonight that they've got to do some of the things we talked about if we're going to get the kind of results we want. We must be able to compete against anyone we play. We'll grow from this and get better.”
Auburn's relentless press was a lesson in and of itself. They came at the Aggies with multiple full court pressure looks, making a habit of intercepting cross-court passes. Despite the intensity of Auburn's pressure, the Aggies stayed competitive in the first quarter thanks to a strong showing on the offensive glass. By the second quarter, however, Auburn's multiple substitutions and constant pressure started to wear on the Aggies. The Tigers scored the first 10 points of the quarter to take a 22-8 lead. After a Charnise Tayler layup, the Tigers went on a 15-0 run. A Dana Brown 3-pointer gave Auburn a 37-13 lead at halftime.
The Aggies best quarter was the third. They shot 50 percent from the field, but by then the Tigers had taken control of the game. Brown led the Aggies with 16 points. Junior Kala Green finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Tyler had seven points and five rebounds. Brandy Montgomery led the Tigers with 18 points and Katie Frerking finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and seven steals.
“I didn't like the score, but I don't think we played bad,” said Robinson. “We knew what Auburn does is unique and different from a lot of schools. They press you every possession, and I have a semi-young group. I have some experience in the starting lineup, but ultimately I have to put young players in the game. And this good for our freshmen. They have to play, they have to learn and we have to keep teaching.”
N.C. A&T will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Savannah, Ga. They will play three games in the Savannah State Thanksgiving Invitational starting with No. 21 West Virginia on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The Aggies will also play Ball State (2 p.m., Nov. 23) and Marist (2 p.m., Nov. 24).
