North Carolina A&T (7-1, 4-0 MEAC) vs. North Carolina Central (3-4, 1-1 MEAC)
Date: February 13-14, 2021
Time(s): 2 p.m-2 p.m.
Facility: McDougald-McLendon Arena

 PROBABLE STARTERS: G Jasmen Walton (5-11, Jr., 8.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg); G Sean Kelly Darks (5-8, Fr., 11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg); G D'Mya Tucker (5-11, Fr., 11.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg); G Chanin Scott (5-11, So., 12.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg); F Shayla Nelson (5-11, So., 7.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg).

AGGIES OVERVIEW: North Carolina A&T finally returns to action after 19 days between games with a trip to Durham, N.C., to face chief rival N.C. Central at 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. The two schools were scheduled to meet each other January 30-31, but due to COVID, NCCU postponed the games. A week later, the S.C. State Bulldogs suspended their season, leaving N.C. A&T without another two games to play. 

The Aggies last played on Jan. 24 at Delaware State, where N.C. A&T used a 32-2 run in the second half to defeat the Hornets 86-59. The DSU came about because the Aggies needed a replacement game to increase the number of games played to be eligible to play in the NCAA tournament potentially.

On the season, four Aggies are averaging double-figures in scoring led by senior forward Deja Winters at 13.9 points per game. She is fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in scoring. Graduate guard Chanin Scott ranks second in the MEAC in rebounds per game (9.3). Freshman guard D'Mya Tucker leads the MEAC in shooting (54.2 percent). Senior center Jayla Jones-Pack, Scott and Winters also ranked in the top-10 in the MEAC as Jones-Pack is shooting 46.3 percent, Scott is at 43.8 percent and Winters shoots 42.9 percent.    

Aggie alum Tarrell Robinson leads A&T. Robinson is in his eighth season as head coach. He enters today's game with a 168-90 (.651) record and has the best winning percentage in school history. He is 24 wins shy of becoming the school's all-time leader in wins, and he has posted an impressive 94-28 (.770) record against MEAC opponents without ever having a losing season in league play. Under Robinson, the Aggies have five 20-win seasons, two MEAC tournament titles, three regular-season titles and five postseason appearances.  

NCCU EAGLES OVERVIEW: North Carolina Central last played on Jan. 24 against Norfolk State, where the Eagles beat the Spartans, 57-44. Kieche White leads the Eagles with 18.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Anissa Rivera is second on the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. Necole Hope is also averaging double-figures at 10.6 points per game. 

White and Rivera caused the Aggies problems last season. White averaged 20.0 points in three games against N.C. A&T while taking a total of 26 free throws and making 20. Rivera averaged 19.3 points in three contests while shooting 47.5 percent (19-for-40). 

Head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom leads the Eagles. She is in her fourth season with the Eagles. She led the Eagles to a Division I-record 13 wins while also leading the team their best record since rejoining the MEAC in 2011-12.   

THE SERIES: The Aggies have dominated the series, but the Eagles won all three games from the Aggies last season. N.C. A&T still holds a 30-9 advantage, including a 12-3 mark in Durham.            

MEAC WEEKLY AWARDS:  The Aggies received another MEAC weekly award as Darks earned MEAC rookie of the week on Jan. 26 for her second rookie weekly award of the season. Darks posted 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in the Aggies 86-59 win over Delaware State in Dover, Del. 

N.C. A&T has numerous weekly honors. Scott has two player of the week honors. Five other Aggies have received a weekly award starting on Dec. 15 when senior Jayla-Jones Pack secured defensive player of the week. 

Winters followed with a player of the week honor on Dec. 22 and a co-player of the week award on Jan. 5. Also, on Jan. 5, Tucker earned defensive player of the week. Jan. 12 saw Scott named co-player of the week and Darks named rookie of the week. 

YOUNG TEAM:  The Aggies have one of the youngest teams in the country. N.C. A&T's average is 19.5 years old. They are tied for the sixth-youngest team in the country with UNLV. Only Oral Roberts, LaSalle, Incarnate Word and Montana State are younger. N.C. A&T has 10 players 19 or younger, and the Aggies feature seven true freshmen. That is tied for the fourth-most in the country. 

Up Next: The Aggies finish the four-game road trip with a trip to Norfolk, Va., to face Norfolk State Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.