A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Shareka McNeill (26 pts, 5 assists, 10-for-19 FGs, 6-for-15 3-pt FGs); F Chanin Scott (18 pts, 14 rebs., 5 offensive, 3 steals, 8-for-12 FGs); G Faith Blackstone (12 pts, 3 assists). 

 WINTHROP STATISTICAL LEADERS: G J'Mani Ingram (18 pts, 9 rebs., 3 assists, 8-for-15 FGs); G Myra Strickland (12 pts, 4 assists, 4 rebs.); G Luka Malinka (11 pts, 4-for-7 FGs).  

 WHY A&T DID GET THE "W": Comfort. Winthrop never really challenged North Carolina A&T defensively. The Eagles played limited man-to-man and allowed the Aggie shooters numerous open looks from mid-range and beyond the 3-point arc, leading to the Aggies taking a season-high 36 3-pointers. In addition, the Aggies attempted 80 field goals, the most they've tried in a game that did not go into overtime this season while turning the ball over only 13 times. 

 WHY WINTHROP DID NOT GET THE "W": Same old story. In the same way the Aggies treated Charleston Southern Wednesday night is the same treatment they gave Winthrop. They made Winthrop's life miserable with a ferocious, disciplined defensive effort. A&T took 26 more shots than the Eagles because the Eagles shot attempts were limited because of a 28-turnover afternoon. A&T outscored the Eagles 39-11 in points off turnovers. 

CRUCIAL: A&T had two key answers on Saturday. In the first half, Winthrop's Luka Malinka netted a 3-pointer from the wing to get the Eagles to within three at 21-18. But on the end of the floor, the Eagles sagged off Shareka McNeill, and she made them pay with an immediate three that sparked an 11-0 Aggies run. Then, in the second half, Myra Strickland finally got something positive going for the Eagles with a 3-pointer that cut the Aggies lead to 48-34 in the third quarter. But Faith Blackstone quickly found Chanin Scott open in the corner for a matching 3-pointer that sent the Aggies on a 14-6 spurt to end the quarter with a 25-point lead. 

 EAST GREENSBORO – Erase a COVID-stricken Dec. 29 loss to Longwood, and the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team has looked terrifying to opponents at Corbett Sports Center. 

The Aggies horrified the Winthrop Eagles Saturday afternoon at Corbett by forcing the Eagles into 28 turnovers in an 87-64 Big South Conference win. The Aggies, who improved to 5-1 at home this season, have won those five games by an average of 24.4 points. 

COVID delivered the Aggies a solid blow to end 2021 and start 2022. But it appears the Aggies (5-10, 2-3 Big South) are getting back to full strength after back-to-back convincing home wins in which they forced a total of 57 turnovers. 

"I think we're getting there defensively," said A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. "There are still some areas I would like to improve on, but still, I'm happy with the win. I'm happy with them trying to put together back-to-back games with a defensive mindset." 

The Aggies opened the second half for the second straight game, lighting up the scoreboard. They caused havoc on the defensive end which translated to an offensive outburst. 

Two-and-half minutes into the second half, graduate forward Kiana Adderton grabbed a defensive board and got the ball into the hands of junior guard Shareka McNeill who quickly turned the outlet pass into a transition basket to give the Aggies a 45-31 lead. After McNeill's transition basket, the Aggies made nine of their next 13 shots to take a 65-40 lead into the fourth quarter. 

The Aggies cruised from there. The Eagles did score 24 fourth-quarter points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field and 9-for-10 shooting from the line. It is something that did not get past Robinson. 

"As I said in the last game, we're able to score, especially in our gym. We had another 80-point performance," said Robinson. I'm not as happy that we gave up 50 on Wednesday and 64 on Saturday. That's why they have coaches, and we have to give them some direction." 

The teams tied five times in the first quarter. The final tie came when Winthrop forward Sierra Hunter scored in the post to make it a 13-13 contest. However, McNeill gave the Aggies the lead for good on the afternoon as she took a swing pass from Adderton and netted a three to give the Aggies a 16-13 first-quarter lead. 

"We're looking forward to getting our first road victory in a couple of days," said Robinson. "We can't stop here. We have to keep on improving and keep on learning." 

The Aggies travel to Asheville, N.C., to face UNC Asheville at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 25. 

QUOTABLE: "Our depth has been important because we're getting kids back from our COVID protocol. During that time out, they're not able to do anything. I've been mindful of that whenever I someone out there breathing hard. The flip side of that is we're trying to build confidence in our bench, so we're looking to give them opportunities to play." 

Head coach Tarrell Robinson on the depth his team has shown the past two games 

GAME NOTES 

• Tarrell Robinson secured his 180th career victory at A&T, putting him 12 wins shy of becoming the women's basketball program's all-time leader in wins.
• The Aggies are now 96-25 at Corbett under Robinson.
• Chanin Scott's 14 rebounds marked a new career-high. She secured her fourth double-double of the season as she added 18 points to her totals. It is the eighth double-double of her A&T career. 
• Shareka McNeill had her second 20-plus point performance as an Aggie as she scored a season-high 26 points. She has hit five or more 3-pointers in a game three times this season. 
• In her last five games, Kiana Adderton is averaging 11.2 points and 8.0 rebounds. 
• The Aggies have turned the ball over only 24 times in their past two games. It is their lowest back-to-back total all season.