A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: C Jazmin Harris (16 pts., 7 rebs., 2 blks); F Chanin Scott (17 pts., 8-for-15 FGs, 10 rebs., 4 offensive, 4 asts., 3 stls); F Levossie Taylor (10 pts., 3-for-4 FGs, 4-for-4 FTs, 5 rebs.); G Sean Kelly Darks (9 pts., 5 rebs., 4 asts., 3 stls); F D'Mya Tucker (8 pts., 6 rebs., 4 offensive). 

SCSU STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Nicole Gwynn (14 pts., 6 rebs.); G Nadia Reese (8 pts., 4 ast.); F Trinity Klock (6 pts., 6 rebs., 3 offensive, 3blks). 

WHY DID A&T GET THE W?: North Carolina A&T had a decided height advantage, and they were not ashamed to use it. A&T's size impacted almost every aspect of the game. The Aggies made a concerted effort early in the game to get the ball inside to 6-foot-3 center Jazmin Harris (McLeansville, N.C.). By the end of the first quarter, she had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting. Also at the end of the first period, The Aggies had a 16-2 advantage in points in the paint. In addition, the Aggies had a 26-15 edge in offensive rebounding for the game, which led to a 24-11 edge in second-chance points. Many of A&T's offensive rebounds came about because they were simply bigger. 

WHY DID SCSU NOT GET THE W?:  S.C. State's Trinity Klock, the 5-foot-11 forward out of Silver Springs, Md., came into the game leading the S.C. State Bulldogs in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). But seven minutes into the game, Klock picked up her second foul and had to go to the Bulldogs bench. It removed what little height the Bulldogs did have. Klock sat for the remainder of the first half. When she left the game, the Bulldogs trailed 15-4. The Aggies had a whopping 48-11 lead when she returned to start the second half. 

CRUCIAL: Chanin Scott (Charlotte, N.C.) playing the power forward position is critical to the Aggies transition game. Scott plays some three against some of the Power Five schools the Aggies play during the non-conference schedule. But against the Bulldogs, she was back at the four. When she is grabbing defensive rebounds, her ball-handling skills allow her to initiate the Aggies offense, which usually means the Aggies will be out and running in transition. That translates into easy layups on the offensive end. Head coach Tarrell Robinson says Scott "encourages transition." 

 EAST GREENSBORO – There was a lot of familiarity for the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team Saturday afternoon during their 86-46 win over the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Corbett Sports Center. 

 They faced former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) mate S.C. State. Before announcing the A&T starting lineup, public address announcer Joseph Level held the note "Aggies" for about five minutes. Of course, the person who always yells "brick" every time an A&T opponent shoots a free throw was also there. 

 Yes, after six straight games on the road, including a clash with the No. 1 team in the nation, the Aggies were back home inside Corbett with all the familiar sights and sounds it affords. 

A&T (1-6) certainly played like a team happy to be home. Before Level finished his long-winded Aggies, the Aggies held a 10-2 lead over the first 3 ½ minutes of the game as Jazmin Harris scored on a turnaround jumper. By the end of the first quarter, the Aggies had a commanding 23-6 lead while holding the Bulldogs to 2-for-10 shooting. 

Bulldogs guard Nadia Reese scored on a layup for the Bulldogs (0-8) with 4 ½ minutes remaining in the first half. It marked the Bulldogs first field goal of the second quarter and their first made basket from the field since there was 4:03 remaining in the first quarter. 

 By then, the Aggies had a commanding 34-8 lead. The Aggies ended the half on a 14-3 run highlighted by six points from Harris and back-to-back threes from Sean Kelly Darks (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Faith Blackstone (Durham, N.C.) as they took a 48-11 lead into the locker room. 

 "It's great to be home because it has been grueling six games," said A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. "The WNIT was hard for us after coming off our performance against UNC Chapel Hill. Our young women played like they were glad to be home." 

The Aggies did open with Power Five and ACC opponent UNC before playing three straight games in Manhattan, Kan., including a game against Power Five Kansas State. They then returned to the southeast and lost road games at Elon and No. 1 South Carolina before finally playing in Corbett, where the Bulldogs never got the Aggies lead under 33 in the second half. 

 "The type of six games we had, three Power Fives, and you know we happened to play the No. 1 team in the country, I feel like was the ultimate when it comes to adversity. You find out who people are, who you can count on, and who responds in difficult moments. You also find out who you need to play in certain situations." 

A&T's win on Saturday marks the first of three straight games at Corbett. The Aggies play rival N.C. Central on Dec. 11 before East Carolina five days later. The Aggies then play at Cincinnati on Dec. 19 before returning home to play their first-ever Big South Conference game against Longwood on Dec. 29. 

"I'm not trying to look too far ahead. I want to prepare this group against whoever is in front of us," said Robinson. "I want to instill some qualities in them, so we can continue to get better and obviously be ready for the Big South." 

Robinson said the schedule and the six road games to start the season were by design. He wants his team to understand everything thing counts. 

"The scout counts. What we do in practice counts. Everything has to carry over to the game," Robinson said. "When you're playing stiff competition, you don't win those games without everything counting."  

QUOTABLE: "We walked in knowing that we had size, and we wanted to take advantage of that. We wanted to get Jazmin Harris going early, and we wanted to drive and attack the basket. We wanted to establish ourselves with strong rebounding. That was a part of our game plan coming in."

Head coach Tarrell Robinson on the Aggies game plan against S.C. State

GAME NOTES

• A&T won its 15th straight game over S.C. State. The Bulldogs have not defeated the Aggies in Corbett since Feb. 11, 2012. 
•  The Aggies have won their last three games against the Bulldogs by an average of 40.1 points. 
• Chanin Scott's 17 points and 10 rebounds marked her third double-double of the season and the 10th since becoming an Aggie two years ago. 
• The Aggies 60 rebounds are a season-high and the most since they grabbed 68 against St. Augustine's on Dec. 11, 2017. 
• The Aggies also recorded season highs in points (86), field goals made (33), field goals attempted (80), free throws made (16), assists (24), steals (14), and blocked shots (4).
• The Aggies won their ninth straight home game with their win over S.C. State on Saturday. A&T's last home loss came to N.C. Central on Feb. 15, 2020. 
• Robinson secured his 176th win as Aggies head coach. He is 16 wins shy of becoming the program's all-time leader in coaching victories. In addition, he is 24 wins shy of becoming just the third basketball coach – men or women – in A&T history, with 200 coaching wins joining Don Corbett and Cal Irvin at the school. 
• Under Robinson, the Aggies are 8-2 in home openers, and in school history, A&T is 20-21 in home openers.