BALTIMORE (January 14, 2016) – North Carolina A&T struggled to stop Coppin State in the first three quarters of a rematch between the two 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game opponents as Coppin State came away with 65-57 win at the Physical Education Complex Saturday afternoon. The Aggies (5-12, 1-3 MEAC) made the game close despite trailing by as many as 18 early in the fourth quarter.
“We didn't get off to a good start and dug a hole for ourselves,” said head coach Tarrell Robinson. “We obviously woke up in the second half, but down 14 points at the half is hard to overcome no matter how hard we fight back.”
Freshman center Alexus Lessears and senior Whitney Martin both had season highs as Whitney Martin came off the bench to score 13 and Lessears finished with 12. Lessears also added six rebounds. Kala Green also reached double figures with 12 points and added two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Aliyah Kilpatrick continued to display her versatility with nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two block and three steals.
“Alexus and Whitney came ready to play today,” said Robinson. “Whitney is counting down the days of her career at A&T and performances like today give me the confidence to play her more. It was good to see them respond and now we just need to get a couple more people doing that and we'll be in business.”
In the fourth quarter, the Aggies offense found their stride. The Aggies trailed 49-31 after Coppin's Oluwaseun Adeniji opened the quarter by scoring on a layup. The Aggies slowly chipped away at the huge lead until getting it down to eight, 53-45, as Charnise Tyler followed a Green miss with 6:05 to play. Martin dwindled the lead to six as she swished a corner 3-pointer to put the Aggies down 60-54 with 2:58 to play. The Aggies continued to chip away as Green followed Martin's three by taking a passing from Kilpatrick to net a three of her own to put the Aggies down three with two minutes remain.
But a jumper from Keena Samuels and a critical error by the Aggies, turning over the ball on an inbound pass with 41 seconds remaining proved insurmountable for N.C. A&T.
N.C. A&T's slow start saw them shoot 28.6 percent from the floor as they trailed 32-18 at the half. The Aggies comeback efforts were helped by shooting 41.2 percent in the second. Their comeback efforts may have been made easier, but they were just 11-for-22 at the line.
“We have to get back to the basics and find our identity which is focused on our defense,” said Robinson. “It's a tough loss, and we have to figure it out. We have to put this behind us and everyone collectively has to do their part to right this ship. We still have a lot of season left, but now we have some ground to make up in the MEAC. It starts with responding at Morgan State on Monday.”
The Aggies will move forward to prepare for their next MEAC opponent in Morgan State on Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. The Bears (2-14, 0-3 MEAC) most recently dropped two conference games on the road against Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M with both games being decided by three points or less.
