NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State snapped North Carolina A&T's 10-game winning streak, Sunday afternoon in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's basketball at Echols Hall, 65-54.
The Spartans (3-7, 2-4 MEAC) started strong and ended strong on Sunday to halt the hottest team's momentum in the MEAC in A&T (10-2, 7-1 MEAC). A&T is still in a good position in the MEAC southern division standings with two upcoming home games against chief rival North Carolina Central this weekend.
"It's very hard to beat a well-coached team three times in a season, but four times is almost impossible, and today we couldn't do the impossible," A&T coach Tarrell Robinson said. "Hats off to (Norfolk) coach Larry Vickers and his Lady Spartans. They were the better team today. From the level of intensity they played to executing their game plan, they outplayed us. Now we have to focus on getting back to playing Aggie basketball."
Graduate guard Chanin Scott led the team with 15 points and shot 6-for-12 from the floor with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Jada Smith added eight points, two assists and two steals.
Freshman guard Asjah Inniss led the team with nine rebounds. Junior guard Jasmen Walton added seven points, seven rebounds and a block, and senior forward Jayla Jones-Pack added seven rebounds, five points, two blocks and a steal.
Early in the game, Norfolk sprinted ahead by going on an 11-0 run to take a 17-6 lead six minutes into the game. The Aggies did get within nine at 22-13 toward the end of the first quarter, but a 3-pointer from Norfolk's Mangela Ngandjui gave the Spartans a 25-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Spartans kept growing their lead in the second as they took a 29-15 lead on a Ngandjui layup with 6:05 to play in the first half. A&T's offense engine started to rev up from there. A Scott jumper and a Deja Winters 3-pointer cut the lead to 29-20. The spurt continued with a Jones-Pack free throw and a D'Mya Tucker layup.
The Aggies 16-4 run over 5 ½-minute stretch ended on a Scott layup as the Aggies got to within two, 33-31, with 24 seconds remaining in the half. Two Norfolk free throws made it a 35-31 game at the half.
Norfolk rebuilt their double-digit lead in the third quarter six minutes into the second half with a 47-37 lead. Once again, the Aggies found a way to rally. Scott had four points, and Tucker had three during a 9-2 outburst by A&T to cut the Spartans lead to 49-46 with 56 seconds remaining in the third.
But with every Aggies push toward getting the lead, the Spartans pushed back on Sunday. Norfolk closed another quarter strong as Armani Franklin scored in the paint to give the Spartans a five-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Norfolk took their lead back to double-figures in the fourth quarter. A 3-point play by Jalynn Holmes gave the Spartans a 60-48 lead with 5:54 remaining in the game. The Aggies got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Franklin led the Spartans with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Aggies final regular-season games take place on Feb. 27 and 28 at Corbett Sports Center against NCCU. Tip-time is 2 p.m., for both games.
