SAVANNAH, Ga. (November 24, 2016) – In a Thanksgiving day showdown, North Carolina A&T women's basketball lost to Marist 69-64 in the Savannah Invitational at the Savannah Civic Center.
“This is what we want. We didn't get a win down here, but I felt like we grew as a group and that's what we want,” said N.C. A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. “We want to continue building our chemistry and figure out what our expectations are. So we will keep fighting.”
For the second time in the Savannah Invitational, Aliyah Kilpatrick scored in the double figures, totaling 10 points to go along with eight rebounds (five offensive) and three assists for a well-rounded game. She led four players in double figures with Charnise Tyler, Dana Brown and Kala Green finishing with 10 apiece.
“We always talk about having a balanced attack and tonight shows that. Obviously we didn't come up with the victory, but we are going to continue to fight and try to get better,” said Robinson.
There was a lot of fight on the offensive glass for the Aggies (1-5). They came away with an incredible 30 offensive rebounds which led to a 28-6 edge in second-chance points. Michelle Fitzgerald added a career-high 15 rebounds which included 11 offensive boards.
The Red Foxes (1-6) offset the Aggies rebounding advantage with their second-half shooting. After shooting 24 percent in the first half, the Red Foxes shot 52 percent in the second half to eventually build a working lead against the Aggies. After an Alexus Lessears layup gave the Aggies a 36-35 lead with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Red Foxes went 3-for-3 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free throw line during a 13-3 run to give Marist a 48-39 lead with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Kilpatrick followed to get the Aggies back to within five, 50-45, with 15 seconds to go in the quarter, but a Rebekah Hand jumper gave the Red Foxes a 52-45 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Red Foxes eventually grew that lead to 10 four minutes into the fourth quarter on a Morgan Bartner three. Brown answered for N.C. A&T with a 3-pointer and the Aggies continued to fight back as Fitzgerald followed her own miss with a layup to bring the Aggies to within five at 62-57 with 4:16 to play in the game.
However, back-to-back baskets by Hannah Hand put the Red Foxes up nine again. Even though the Aggies got to within five, 66-61, on a Fitzgerald jumper with 1:08 to play, a Bartner jumper with 56 seconds remaining gave the Red Foxes the clincher they needed.
Rebekah Hand led the way for the Red Foxes with 28 points and 12 rebounds. The other Hand, Hannah, added 13 points. Claire Oberdorf went 13-for-16 from the line to finish with 13.
The Aggies took over the lead for the first time in the contest in the second quarter, picking up the first five points of the quarter thanks to Lessears and Cinia McCray, who picked up a 3-pointer and driving layup to grab a 16-13 advantage. N.C. A&T picked up the pace in the second quarter like they did against West Virginia earlier in the Savannah Invitational and were present on both sides of the ball, forcing Marist to run down the clock rather than allowing the quick shots. A Tyler jumper gave the Aggies a 23-22 lead with 3:07 to go in the first half. Marist scored the final seven points of the half to take a 29-23 halftime lead.
The Aggies will take to the road in a midweek game against Appalachian State (5-2) at the George M. Homes Convocation Center in Boone, N.C., on Nov. 30 at 12 p.m.
