DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina A&T women's basketball won its eighth consecutive game and are now off to the best start in program history after a monster third quarter to beat chief rival N.C. Central 87-57 at McDougald-McLendon Arena Saturday afternoon in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play.
The Aggies (8-1, 5-0 MEAC) held a 37-29 halftime lead, but NCCU made it 39-35 on a Cherelle Washington jumper. The third quarter belonged to the Aggies from there. They outscored the Eagles 34-7 over the final 7:44 of the quarter.
The run started with a 3-pointer from senior Deja Winters. The run included five Winters 3-pointers as she finished with 26 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three. Winters shot 6-for-7 in the third quarter. N.C. A&T was an amazing 13-for-14 during the run. Over the last two games, the Aggies have outscored their opponents 101-58 in the second half, including outscoring the Eagles 50-28 in the second half Saturday.
The Aggies led 73-42 going into the third quarter.
"North Carolina Central jumped on us to start the game, 12-2," N.C. A&T coach Tarrell Robinson said. "I'm proud of how our ladies responded to that adversity. We've got a few areas to improve on going into tomorrow's game, but I'm pleased with the result of the game."
Graduate guard Chanin Scott also had a big third quarter scoring nine points, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor. She ended the game with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Freshman guard Sean Kelly Darks, the lone Aggie scoring in double-figures in the first half, posted 14 points before going into the locker room, including 12 points in the second quarter. Darks completed the game with 17 points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
"Deja Winters got hot in the third quarter, and Sean Kelly Darks along with Chanin Scott gave us that consistency on both ends we can always count on. It was a great effort after being off for two weeks," said Robinson.
The Aggies shot 46.5 percent from the floor, including 82.4 percent from the floor in the third quarter, and shot 44.0 percent from the 3-point arc, including shooting 87.5 percent from the 3-point range in the third quarter.
N.C. A&T recorded 24 assists and eight turnovers with 10 steals and forced 20 Eagles turnovers.
After NCCU (3-5, 1-2 MEAC) took a 12-2 lead, N.C. A&T called a timeout. They came out of the timeout and outscored the Eagles 14-2 over a 5 ½-minute stretch to take a 16-14 lead after a Winters jump shot went through the net. Anissa Rivera got the Eagles back on track with a 3-pointer before two Jasmen Walton free throws gave the Aggies an 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Darks opened the second period with a 3-pointer. NCCU scored the next four points, tying the game at 21 on a Rivera free throw. N.C. A&T had a mini 9-3 run capped by a floater in the lane from freshman Asjah Inniss to give the Aggies a 30-24 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half.
A Faith Williams 3-pointer for the Eagles cut the lead down to three before the Aggies grew their lead to double-figures with a 7-0 run started by a Darks 3-pointer. Necole Hope halted the run just before the half with a layup, making it 37-29 when both teams stopped play for intermission.
Rivera led the Eagles with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Aggies continue the four-game road trip with a second game at NCCU, Sunday at 2 p.m.
