CLINTON, S.C. – North Carolina A&T beat Presbyterian in Big South Conference women's basketball by double figures for the second time in three days with a 73-56 win over the Blue Hose Saturday afternoon at the Templeton Center.
The Aggies (12-12, 9-5 Big South) reached a .500 winning percentage for the first time this season and they remain in a heated battle for one of the top-four seeds at the Big South tournament, March 1-6. A top-four seed will garner A&T a first-round bye.
A&T defeated the Blue Hose (9-14, 4-19 Big South) by 28 points at Corbett Sports Center in a makeup game from January 8. However, it appeared the Aggies would have a more challenging time with the Blue Hose on Saturday. For the game's first 15 minutes, it was a tussle.
"We knew it would be a different ballgame at Presbyterian," said A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. "They're a team that has proven to play very well at home in league play."
A&T took an early 18-10 lead in the first quarter before Jade Compton connected on a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper to bring the Blue Hose to within three. The Aggies scored four straight before Maleia Bracone ended the first with a 3-pointer to send the Aggies into the second quarter ahead 22-18.
The Blue Hose remained within striking distance over the first 4 ½ minutes of the second quarter. Bracone turned a Sean Kelly Darks turnover into a transition layup on the other end to cut A&T's lead to 29-25 with 5:30 remaining in the first half.
A&T's defense took over from there. Bracone's basket was the Blue Hose's final field goal of the first half. Shayla Nelson gave the Aggies a 35-27 lead with 2:27 to go in the half. Thirty seconds later, Nelson hit two free throws to increase A&T's lead to 10.
Presbyterian never got the deficit under 10 again. Nelson scored again to put the Aggies up 12. Following two Paige Kindseth free throws for the Blue Hose, senior guard Kennedy Boyd netted a three to give A&T a 42-29 lead. Barcone hit one of two free throws send the Blue Hose into the locker room trailing 42-30.
The Aggies lead grew to as many as 20 in the third quarter. The closest Presbyterian came in the fourth quarter was 15, but that was with 1:16 to play. The Aggies shot a season-high 56.1 percent from the floor. The Aggies are now 26-1 when they shoot 50 percent or better under Robinson.
Graduate forward Chanin Scott led the Aggies with 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals on 7-for-10 shooting. Graduate center Jazmin Harris added 12 points, going 6-for-12 from the floor. Nelson came off the bench to score 10, marking the second time she reached double figures this season. Also coming off the bench was Boyd, who scored a season-high six points on 2-for-2 shooting from 3-point range.
"We got great contributions from our bench today," said Robinson. "Shayla Nelson and Kennedy Boyd both played well for us. Both put together their most complete game thus far. We're going to need that type of bench production moving forward."
The Aggies are winners of five straight on the road. They will try to make it six when they travel to Longwood on Wednesday, February 16, for a 7 p.m. game. The Lancers are in a second-place tie with USC Upstate at 10-3 in the Big South.
They beat a COVID-stricken Aggies team earlier this season at Corbett.
