BOONE (November 30, 2016) – In a midweek matchup, North Carolina A&T women's basketball team fell to the Appalachian State Mountaineers 71-58 at Holmes Convocation Center.
“At some point we just ran out of gas. Moving forward we need to make sure we are a little more conditioned and ready to compete in this type of environment,” said head coach Tarrell Robinson. “This loss is a major letdown. Allowing 71 points is not who we are and that's not what we practice. At some point, things will click and that's when we will start to work.”
Guards Aliyah Kilpatrick and Dana Brown reached double figures for the second consecutive game. Kilpatrick finished with 16 points, going 2-for-3 from 3-point range and also adding seven rebounds, a block and three steals while Brown put up 12 including four 3-pointers. Charnise Tyler grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven points.
N.C. A&T (1-6) hung around throughout the entire game, but they shot 28.6 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter and did not score the final three minutes of the game.
Trailing 37-31 heading into the second half, the Aggies continued a trend they've been following most of the season coming out of the locker room fired up with momentum on their side. The Aggies picked up a quick four points to bring the game within two on a jumper from Kala Green and layup from Kilpatrick before a foul from Green allowed the Mountaineers to pick up two from the line.
The Mountaineers went on a couple scoring streaks, but the Aggies held them defensively, not allowing a score in the final 3:11 of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Aggies picked up nine points for the largest run of the quarter. N.C. A&T shot 43.8 percent from the floor in the third to outscore the Mountaineers 17-15 for the second straight quarter.
“We started to defend and had decent rotations in the second and third, and we did to them what they were doing to us: speed them up and force quick shots. That's when we got into our rhythm,” said Robinson.
Robinson took advantage of his roster depth frequently as almost half of the Aggies first half points came from the bench. This revolving door of faces helped N.C. A&T to outscore the Mountaineers 20-14 heading into halftime, led by Kilpatrick, who picked up seven points in the quarter.
After a short break, the Aggies will travel to Panama City Beach, Fla. to take on University of Florida (4-1) on Dec. 11 in the Play4Kay game supporting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The team will then head south to play Florida Gulf Coast (2-5) in Fort Myers, Fla. on Dec. 13.
