EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T honored one of its own before the A&T women's basketball team faced the University of Cincinnati Thursday night at Corbett Sports Center.
A video tribute honoring women's basketball coach and A&T alumnus Tarrell Robinson for recently becoming the program's all-time winningest coach played before he did what he does best. Coach.
Robinson nearly led the Aggies to an upset win over the American Athletic Conference's (AAC) Bearcats for the second straight season. But a late 8-0 Cincinnati run propelled the Bearcats to a 78-73 win. A&T lost to Cincinnati in double overtime in Ohio last season.
A&T established two things despite the loss. First, sophomore point guard Jordyn Dorsey is the Aggies floor leader, and second, redshirt freshman center Chaniya Clark is a viable option in the post. Dorsey finished with a career-high 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
Clark had eight points in 10 minutes of action, and her fellow post player on the team, Jazmin Harris, finished with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
"I'm proud of Jordyn Dorsey," said Robinson. "Jordyn is transitioning to the point guard position, and it's a lot of responsibility that she's learning. But I think she can have nights like this consistently with obviously making sure that the other four players on the court are on the same page. So, this is the beginning of Jordyn Dorsey. I expect more from her."
Dorsey opened the fourth quarter with offense on her mind. Her pull-up jumper 40 seconds into the fourth quarter tied the game at 58. She then got to the lane for a runner that gave the Aggies the lead. Cincinnati scored the next five points before baskets by Harris and senior Nyah Willis gave the Aggies a 64-63 lead with 5:46 to play.
After Jillian Hayes helped the Bearcats regain the lead, Harris took a lob pass into the paint from sophomore Laila Acox and scored to put the Aggies ahead 66-65. But Malea Williams took a pass from Mya Jackson, stood at the top of the key, and netted a three to spark Cincinnati's 8-0 run that gave the Bearcats a 73-66 lead with 2:44 remaining.
Clark ended the Bearcats run with a layup, but Cincinnati connected on 5 of 6 free throws over the final minute to clinch the win.
"Some of the same errors, but this group really has ownership and accountability," said Robinson. "We'll figure it out. Hats off to Cincinnati because they came in, and I thought toward the end, they did what they needed to do as far as execution."
Jackson and Hayes led the Bearcats with 16 points apiece, with Jackson adding six assists and Harris adding nine rebounds. Both teams shot the ball well, with the Aggies shooting 49.1 percent and the Bearcats shooting 51.9 percent, including going 8-for-8 in the second quarter.
A&T started slow, however, falling behind 8-0 to start the game before hitting eight of their next 12 shots to take a 23-21 lead after the first quarter. The Aggies held a 34-29 lead in the second quarter before an 11-1 Cincinnati run gave the Bearcats a 40-35 lead at halftime. A&T trailed by as many as 10 in the second half before going into the fourth quarter down 58-56.
Robinson and the Aggies will take time away from competition for exams before returning to the court at 2 p.m., Saturday, December 10, to face Johnson & Wales at Corbett.
