EAST GREENSBORO (December 11, 2018) –The snow on the ground outside of Corbett Sports Center Tuesday afternoon was in the forecast. What happened inside Corbett on Tuesday was not as predictable.
Johnson C. Smith, a Division II team out of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, upset the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team 53-50. It is the Aggies first loss to a DII since a 68-54 loss to N.C. Central at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2000.
Junior C'coriea Foy led the Aggies with 19 points and four steals. She was the only Aggie in double figures, but junior Le'on Hill finished with 11 rebounds. The Golden Bulls got 35 points from their bench led by Le'Zarea Bowens' 11 points. The Golden Bulls (1-5) were also surprisingly efficient on the offensive glass, outscoring N.C. A&T 13-1 in second-chance points.
Things turned in JCSU's favor with 7:15 to play in the game. It was the start of an 8-0 run for JCSU that ended with a Jakeyah McNeil 3-pointer, a called timeout by A&T and a Golden Bulls 48-42 lead with 4:05 to play.
N.C. A&T (2-6) cut the lead to two, 50-48, on a well-executed inbounds play where junior guard Cinia McCray found Foy curling to the basket for an easy layup with 38 seconds to play. But JCSU countered the Aggies inbounds play with one of their own. McNeil took the ball out underneath the JCSU basket and spotted Bowens standing underneath the hoop for an easy two to give the Golden Bulls a 52-48 lead with 19 seconds remaining.
Freshman Rayven Peeples cut the lead back two as junior Shantell Bostick drove baseline and dumped the ball down to Peeples for the two. JCSU's Dejane James was fouled soon after and managed to hit one of two free throws to give JCSU a three-point lead.
The Aggies had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but Foy's 3-pointer went long lending to a JCSU celebration.
There were no surprises insight early. McCray's 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Aggies a 15-9 lead. The Aggies led by as many as seven, 26-19, with 2 ½ minutes remaining in the first half. But the Golden Bulls closed the half on a 4-0 run and went into the locker room trailing by only three, 26-23.
It will not take long for the Aggies to have a chance at redemption. N.C. A&T travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to play East Tennessee State 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 13.
