GREENSBORO (January 21, 2017) – North Carolina A&T women's basketball team handed Howard their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference loss of the season, defeating the Bison 63-55 at Corbett Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
“It was an overall team effort and this is what we are about,” said N.C. A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. “Defending, rebounding, second chance points and paint points were important for us. Bottom line, we came out with the victory and are moving up versus moving back.”
The chemistry was there for the Aggies (7-12, 3-3 MEAC), despite not having their leading scorer Dana Brown on the court. Freshman center Alexus Lessears found herself in foul trouble early, but still finished the game with a team-leading 13 points and nine rebounds while fellow freshman Cinia McCray hit clutch shots for the Aggies to finish with 12 points. Aliyah Kilpatrick added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and junior Kala Green had 11 points and a team-leading four assists.
“Alexus had 13 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes. If we can keep her on the floor, we know what we have. We know she is a special kid not just on the floor but also off the floor,” said Robinson. “She's slowly but surely making our guards confident in what she can do, and we are going to get her some more touches. I'm happy she played the way she played, but we need her to stay in the game a little longer.”
As expected in a matchup between the defending MEAC champion Aggies who were playing at home and the Howard Bison who came into the game winners of five straight, both teams came out swinging in the fourth quarter. Green brought an enthusiastic Aggie crowd to their feet as she netted a 3-pointer with 4:41 remaining to give the Aggies a 53-51 lead.
“There's nothing like A&T fans and playing in Corbett Sports Center,” said Robinson. “We hope they continue to show that same energy because the kids really feed off it.”
The lead increased to four on two Kilpatrick free throws, but the Bison were stubborn. Jasmine Hill found a cutting Sydni Johnson going to the basket and connected with her for a layup. A beautiful post move from Lessears and two Michelle Fitzgerald free throws put the Aggies ahead 59-53 with 2:07 to play. After two Howard free throws, Green put the Bison away by stepping in front of a Johnson pass and racing down the floor for a layup to give the Aggies a 61-55 advantage with 23 seconds remaining.
“We know that we are a great team that has some things to work on,” said Green. “There's nothing better than having that foundation and coach has shown us how important work ethic is to our game. If we can't do anything else, we need to work hard, make the hustle plays, take charges because a lot of our energy comes from our defense. We went out there knowing we could outwork them and that's what got us to the win.”
N.C. A&T trailed the Bison (7-9, 3-1 MEAC) by one at the half, 27-26. Kilpatrick started off the half with the team's first 3-pointer of the game after the Aggies missed their first seven threes. She would later record the Aggies second shot from beyond the arc to give N.C. A&T a 37-35 lead. McCray kept the hot perimeter shooting going by knocking down a corner three despite being fouled Erin Blaine in the process. Once McCray completed her four-point play, the Aggies had their biggest lead of the game at 44-37 with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter. The Bison, however, closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run before a Whitney Martin jump shot steadied the Aggies as they led 48-45 going into the final quarter.
Both Robinson and Green saw the team come together on the court and will use the teamwork displayed tonight to find a way to close out their conference competition with the high expectations they set before the season.
“This was probably the biggest team win of the season for us, and it was good to see our young women mature and grow and start to turn the corner,” said Robinson. “I just told them in the locker room that it's just a matter of them truly believing that we can have a great season and things will start to turn around. We have the pieces, and I'm really proud of them making plays.”
The Aggies have a break before taking to the road for a tough 3-game stretch starting with arch rival North Carolina Central in Durham on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.
