Women's Basketball | 11/8/2021 11:30:00 AM

North Carolina A&T women's basketball looks to continue the success of the last six seasons from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) into their new conference, the Big South.   
                
There is no better person to transition the A&T women's basketball team into the Big South than head coach Tarrell Robinson. Robinson has compiled a 175-92 record in nine seasons, including a 108-30 mark in the MEAC. He is 17 wins shy of becoming the school's all-time leader in wins. He also has four MEAC regular-season championships and three MEAC tournament titles.                  

 
The Aggies have won four of the last six MEAC regular-season championships, including winning the southern division last season. A&T has also won three of the previous five tournament championships, including defeating Howard 57-55 in last season's championship game. 
 
"I don't think we change the ingredients or our philosophy as a program or as a staff," Robinson said on switching conferences. "It comes down to being able to scout and adjust to the style of play. But we're always going to be a defensive-minded team."
 
In the inaugural season of the Big South, the Aggies are picked fourth in the conference, and the Big South named Chanin Scott to their preseason second team.
 
"Our first year being in the league, I think it's a good thing to be picked in the top half of the league," Robinson said. "It's a very competitive league. Some really good coaches and tremendous players. To come in and be picked in that top half, that's a compliment."
 
Returners
Chanin Scott returns for her last season after transferring in from Georgia Tech as a graduate. In her first season with the Aggies last season, Scott ranked in the top five in several MEAC statistical categories. She ranked third in scoring (14.3 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.6 rpg), third in field goal percentage (.456), fourth in assists (3.5 apg), second in steals (2.3 spg) and she led the MEAC in assist to turnover ratio (1.4). 
 
"Last year, she played out of position," Robinson said on getting Scott back for another year. "We played her in that four-slot area. We wanted to take advantage of her athleticism, which we did. She was the head of our press. She did a good job getting the ball off the glass. She created for herself and her teammates."
 
The top two freshmen return for their sophomore season in Sean Kelly Darks and D'Mya Tucker. Darks ranked 14th in the MEAC in points per game (10.5), seventh in field goal percentage (.412), ninth in assists per game (2.7) and seventh in steals per game (1.9).
 
Tucker ranked 22nd in the conference in points per game (7.9), tied for fourth in field goal percentage (.425) and 13th in assists (1.9).
 
"There's more of a calmness," Robinson said on his two sophomores. "They have some comfort to them. They know what to expect during this time right now. The uncomfortable part of it is the expectation is raised. 
 
Now that you have proven that you can play at this level let's see how good you can be. There is a lot of expectations for them to be leaders coming in as sophomores, not just on the court, but off it."  
Jasmen Walton returns for her senior season running the point. She ranked fifth in the MEAC in assists per game (3.5). She also ranked 10th in steals per game (1.7), second in assist to turnover ratio (1.3), and averaged 7.4 points per game. But what Walton does for the Aggies can't be measured in numbers.
 
In many cases, she guards the other team's best guard, and she gets A&T into its offensive sets on many different occasions. 
 
Shayla Nelson played in 10 games with seven starts and averaged 20.2 minutes, 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor. Kennedy Boyd also returns for her senior season.
 
Last season, Boyd played in 11 games and averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds.
Levossie Taylor returns for her sophomore season. Taylor played in 12 games and averaged 6.8 minutes, 1.1 points and 1.5 rebounds last season. Nina Worthey sat last season and will be a redshirt freshman this season.  
 
Newcomers
Shareka McNeill transferred from Division II Virginia Union University. VUU did not play last season because of the pandemic. McNeill played in limited action in 2019-20 by starting in eight games because of injury. She averaged 32.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32.3 minutes per game. She scored 59 points in a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament game to tie the single-game tournament record.
 
"Shareka McNeill is living up to her name and her game coming from Virginia Union," Robinson said.  "She's such a competitor at heart and one of the most dynamic guards that I've had the pleasure of coaching. She can do it, and she thinks that she can do it all. She brings us to a championship level. I think she's going to be special for us this year. She's really stood out."
 
Kiana Adderton is a transfer from DII Francis Marion. She played in 54 games, including 51 starts. Adderton averaged 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor in three seasons. Adderton's best season came during her sophomore season, where she started all 27 games and averaged 17.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals.
 
Faith Blackstone is a transfer from Syracuse. In limited action in her freshman season, she totaled 14 points in 57 minutes with seven steals and four rebounds in six games. She recorded 11 points, five steals and two rebounds in 19 minutes against Lincoln (PA) on Dec. 2, 2020.
 
Rochelle Lee is a redshirt senior transfer from North Texas. She played two seasons at Chattanooga before transferring to North Texas. From 2017-19, Lee appeared in 55 games for the Mocs with 14 starts and recorded 142 points, 87 rebounds, 14 assists and 10 blocks. Lee sat out the 2019-20 season due to the NCAA transfer rules but averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 43.5 perfect from the floor during the 2020-21 season.
 
The final transfer is Jazmin Harris from Charlotte. In three seasons with the 49ers, she averaged 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. In the 2020-21 season, Harris averaged 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17 games with five starts and averaged 19.5 minutes.
 
"Rochelle Lee has shown some leadership qualities," Robinson said. "Jazmin Harris from Charlotte has shown we can have solid point production from her in the paint. Kiana Adderton, she's another one that I think will be critical for us. Probably one of the best shooters on our team."  
 
Jasmin Boyd enters her freshman season after playing 94 high school games, where she recorded 642 points, 386 rebounds and 181 assists. Her high school, Trenton Catholic, had a 93-9 record in four seasons, including three Mercer County tournament titles. They also won the NJSIAAA Non-Public South Jersey Group B titles two consecutive years, starting in 2019. 
 
Kristin Sterling averaged 30.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in her senior season at Pikesville High School. The Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) named her to their second team. She was also second-team all-county as a junior. As a senior, she earned first-team honors from MPSSAA and the county.                                         
 
Jordyn Dorsey averaged 30.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in her senior season at Cross Creek High School. In her junior season, she averaged 17.2 points, 3.0 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 steals, earning Augusta Chronicle player of the year. She was named second-team all-state in 2016 and first-team all-state in 2019.  
 
Nahndi Smith averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals in her senior season. 
She was all-conference all four seasons. In 2019-20, she earned player of the year in North Carolina, conference MVP honors and all-state honors. All-state honors came her way again the following season. Asheville Christian was state champions in 2019-20 and state runner-up in 2020-21.  
 
Chaniya Clark ranked as the No. 4 player in the state and the No. 96 overall according to Prep Girls Hoops. In addition, she was ranked No. 10 at her position, according to ESPN. She is a two-time reigning South West Florida player of the year. She averaged 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in her senior year of high school.
 
"Jordyn Dorsey is a tremendous talent," Robinson said. "She was a big-time recruit when we got her. As she continues to get comfortable, she's going to be special. Chaniya Clark has tremendous instincts, great footwork for her size, and great shooting touch. As she gets more comfortable and more confident, I anticipate her being dominant by the time that we get to the Big South." 
 
Schedule
The first six games are on the road for the Aggies, starting with Power Five opponent North Carolina in Chapel Hill. UNC is one of three teams that the Aggies are facing that made the NCAA tournament last season. After that, a&T travels to Manhattan, Kan., for the Preseason WNIT and faces Western Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin and Kansas State.  
 
A&T returns to the Carolinas with a short trip to Elon University before Thanksgiving and travels to Columbia, S.C., to face the University of South Carolina after Thanksgiving. USC made it to the Final Four last season and fell to eventual champion Stanford 66-65. There is a good chance USC will be the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. 
 
The Aggies start a three-game homestand in December, which includes their home opener against S.C. State. A&T also faces another former MEAC team in North Carolina Central before finishing the homestand against East Carolina.
 
The final game before Christmas is the last non-conference game at Cincinnati.
 
"The schedule gives me the ability to remind them why I'm hard on them. Have you seen our schedule?" Robinson said. "Do you know who we play? How are we going to beat them if this is what you are giving us? How will you beat UNC or South Carolina if you can't take care of attention to detail? I've got great expectations for this team. It's one of the most talented that I've had."
 
The Aggies start Big South play after Christmas with the conference opener against Longwood in Corbett Sports Center. A&T faces Longwood, Hampton, Campbell, Presbyterian, Radford, USC Upstate and Charleston Southern in a home-and-home.
 
A&T hosts Winthrop and High Point and travels to UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb in the season's only meeting.