EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T women's basketball team has a date in mind. It's Wednesday, March 11, 2020. That is when the No. 2 seed plays in the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament at the Norfolk Scope in Virginia.
The Aggies took another step toward securing that date on Monday night by defeating MEAC foe Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) 72-57 in their 2019-20 home finale at Corbett Sports Center.
The win moves the Aggies to 18-8 overall and 10-4 in the MEAC. With Florida A&M ineligible for the tournament this season, there are only two byes to be had. One will go to the No. 1 seed and the other to the second seed.
N.C. A&T is tied for third with Morgan State (10-4) after the action on Monday with the Bears holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Aggies. Both teams are a half-game behind second-place Norfolk State (10-3) with Bethune-Cookman appearing to have No. 1 slot in hand.
Anything below a No. 2 seed will mean the Aggies will have to play three straight days – Thursday, Friday and Saturday – to win the championship instead of having Thursday off like they have had over the past two seasons as the top seed.
"We don't want to play three straight days. We want to give ourselves a chance to recoup," said N.C. A&T coach
Tarrell Robinson. "I know what that day off means. My coaching staff knows, and my seniors know. They also know what it means to play on Friday and Saturday and I'm counting on that experience down the stretch."
Robinson had five of his seniors play their final game at Corbett Sports Center on Monday with
Cinia McCray leading the way with 18 points and five rebounds on 4-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Another senior,
Le'on Hill, finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Senior center
Alexus Lessears had eight rebounds, senior guard
Mikaya Wilson had six assists and senior guard
Shantell Bostick, unfortunately, ran into early foul trouble. Senior
C'coriea Foy, the MEAC preseason player of the year, is out for the season.
It is a group that has already won two MEAC regular-season titles, one NCAA appearance, one WNIT appearance, one MEAC tournament championship and they went 16-0 in the MEAC in 2018-19.
"By far one of the most special groups we have ever had in our program," said Robinson. "For four straight years they kept things exciting and they delivered on their promise by being committed to the things we pride ourselves in. They've been real role models and I'm proud of them."
Junior
Deja Winters added 17 points and was magnificent in the second half. With the Aggies leading 46-45 with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter, Winters completed a 3-point play to give the Aggies 49-45 lead. Fifty seconds later, she hit a 3-pointer to give N.C. A&T a 52-47 advantage. But Bailey Brooklyn hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring UMES to within three going into the fourth quarter, 53-50.
The Aggies, however, opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run capped by another Winters 3-pointer that gave the Aggies a 61-50 lead with 5:55 to play. Winters third three of the second half put the Aggies ahead 67-52 with 3:25 to play.
"I'm glad
Deja Winters showed up today," said Robinson. "Now if we can get that from 3 (McCray) and 31 (
Jayla Jones-Pack) and 15 (Lessears) and get what we got out of 22 (Hill) today, it's going to be a special season for us."
McCray did start the game on fire by hitting four first-quarter threes to give the Aggies a 22-18 lead. The Aggies led throughout the second quarter taking a 10-point lead, 38-28, on two Hill free throws. Brooklyn hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven before a Hill jumper gave the Aggies a 40-31 halftime lead.
Brooklyn led the Hawks (5-21, 2-11 MEAC) with 19 points.
"We all understand the position we want to be in when it is all said and done," said Robinson. "Right now it's tight. We know with a win or a loss we can move up or move down, so we need to continue to get better."
The Aggies will face S.C. State 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 2 in Orangeburg, S.C.
