DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Monday was a good news/bad news situation for the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team. First, the bad news … The Aggies saw their six-game winning streak come to an end with a 65-41 setback to Bethune-Cookman at BCU's Moore Gymnasium.
The good news is Hampton was defeated by Delaware State, 89-81, Monday night. Therefore, the Aggies (15-11, 11-4 MEAC) remain tied for first in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with not only Hampton (13-15, 11-4 MEAC) but BCU joins the party at 17-11 overall and 11-4 in the MEAC.
N.C. A&T closes with arch rival North Carolina Central 5:30 Thursday night at Corbett Sports Center. Hampton closes with their rival, Norfolk State, in Norfolk, Va., Thursday. Bethune-Cookman plays at S.C. State on Thursday. Morgan State (12-15, 10-5 MEAC) also has a chance to share the regular-season title.
In more good news, despite the loss, an Aggies win on Thursday clinches at least a share of the MEAC regular-season championship for N.C. A&T. The Aggies are looking for their first regular-season championship in six years.
Kailyn Williams, who shared MEAC Player of the Week honors with N.C. A&T's Courtney Powell, was a major reason the Aggies winning streak came to an end. Williams finished with the uncommon feat of recording a triple-double as she finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks. Kala Green was the only Aggie to score in double figures with 10. The Aggies shot a season-low 26 percent.
It didn't start out badly for the Aggies. They only trailed 13-8 at the end of the first quarter after Quenswayla Story close the period with a short jumper. But Emily Williams was able to end the second quarter on a positive note for the Wildcats as she hit a 3-pointer to give her team a 35-23 halftime lead. The Wildcats shot 48 percent in the quarter.
It took the Aggies five minutes to connect on their first field goal of the second half as the Wildcats led 43-28. The Wildcats scored the next seven points to take a 22-point lead before Green hit a 3-pointer to halt the run at 50-31 with a minute remaining in the third quarter. The lead would not get under 19 the rest of the night, however.
