A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: C Jazmin Harris (17 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blks, 8-for-14 FGs); F/G D'Mya Tucker (14 pts, 7-for-10 FGs); F Chanin Scott (12 pts, 2 stls, 5-for-10 FGs).  

UPSTATE STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Chellia Watson (32 pts, 2 stls, 14-for-18 FGs, 4-for-6 3-pt FGs); G Jada Logan (12 pts, 7 assists, 7 rebs, 5-for-8); G Rachael Rose (8 pts, 5 assists, 7 rebs, 3-for-5 FGs).

WHY A&T DIDN'T GET THE W: Upstate. The Spartans did an adequate job of taking away the Aggies first and second options on offense. They paid extra special attention to Aggies guard Shareka McNeill while being content with center Jazmin Harris taking jump shots. When the Aggies had to knock it down from the perimeter, they were 2-for-13 from 3-point range.  

WHY UPSTATE GOT THE W: Cheillia Watson. When you score 43 percent of your team's offense, there is a good chance you played a vital role. Watson did it from almost everywhere. She scored in transition, popped out to hit four 3-pointers, and she put the ball on the floor and got to the rim. The only way Watson didn't score was from the free throw line. She took care of that in the earlier meeting between the two teams when she went 8-for-8 from the line on her way to 24 points.

CRUCIAL: The Aggies trailed by nine at the half, and their deficit grew to 12 in the third quarter. But with 8:23 remaining in the game, Upstate's lead stood at one, 53-52. But Upstate ran off an 11-2 run. The mightiest blow came when Jada Logan dribbled just inside the 3-point arc and fired a cross-court pass over to a wide-open Terah Harness for a 3-pointer that gave the Spartans a 64-54 advantage.

EAST GREENSBORO – Instead of losses, North Carolina A&T women's basketball head coach Tarrell Robinson chooses to call them lessons.

A solid fourth quarter by the USC Upstate Spartans caused the Aggies their 14th lesson of the season, as Upstate defeated the Aggies 74-63 at Corbett Sports Center Saturday afternoon. Robinson knows if his 2021-22 team does not learn from this latest lesson, their season is over.

The Aggies will head into their first and perhaps final Big South Conference Basketball Tournament as the No. 6 seed and face 11th-seeded UNC Asheville at 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 1, at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.

The Aggies will be in the same bracket as Upstate, the third seed. If the Aggies advance, they will get the Spartans at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 3, at the BoPlex. The Aggies go into the tournament 0-4 at home against teams ahead of them in the Big South standings.

"We'll see what we get," said Robinson referring to the tournament. "It's the same old song. Now it's 14 lessons. It's not a secret that every time we get in front of our crowd and play one of the top teams, that team follows the scout. They execute. They play at a high level, and we allow them to."

A&T and Upstate played a good brand of basketball for the majority of the game. There were only a combined 20 fouls called. Upstate shot 8-for-14 (.571) from the floor in the first quarter, while the Aggies shot 8-for-13 (.615). The two teams went into the second quarter tied at 21.

The Spartans built a sizeable lead in the second quarter, taking a 36-27 advantage on a Logan layup. That lead grew to 40-29 on a Rachael Rose layup before guard Shareka McNeill netted a long two to send the Aggies into the locker room, trailing 40-31 at the half.

The Spartans quickly extended their lead to double figures on a Harness 3-pointer. But after Chellia Watson scored on a short jumper to give the Spartans a 45-33 lead 2 ½ minutes into quarter No. 3, the Aggies began to execute flawlessly on offense led by sophomore D'Mya Tucker.

Tucker, who had six points in the quarter, took a beautiful pass from Jasmen Walton and scored to complete the Aggies 12-2 run to cut Upstate's lead to 47-45 with 2:34 remaining in the third. The Spartans scored the next four points before Tucker ended the quarter with another layup to make it a 51-47 game going into the final quarter.

To open the fourth quarter, a pass from Walton turned into a Jazmin Harris layup to get. The Aggies to within two. Spartan forward Molly Coleman put the Spartans up four again. Chanin Scott then hit a free throw followed by a Walton steal that led to a transition bucket by McNeill, thanks to a great outlet pass from Walton.

The sequence pulled the Aggies to within at 53-52 90 seconds into the fourth. But an 11-2 Upstate run gave the Spartans a 64-54 lead that forced the Aggies to call a 30-second timeout. Scott responded by scoring in the post, but back-to-back threes from Watson put the Aggies down 70-56 3:37 to play. A&T never recovered. 

"Winning teams do winning things," said Robinson. "They've got 20 wins, and they are committed and bought into whatever (head coach Becky Burke) is telling them. I think she is a great coach and a great competitor."

Here' hoping the Aggies have learned their lessons as tournament time approaches. 

 QUOTABLE:  "I told my young women prior to the game, (Upstate) has never lost two in a row. They've responded to every loss. That is what I am still searching for with this group. When you've won as much as we have, you know what it looks like. Right now, our young women don't believe in it. We're going to keep trying to do our jobs and convince them because now it's one and done. We'll see what we get." 

A&T Head coach Tarrell Robinson on getting his team prepared for postseason play

GAME NOTES

• The Aggies honored five players playing in their final game at Corbett Sports Center on Saturday. Forward Kiana Adderton, point guards Kennedy Boyd, center Jazmin Harris, point guard Shareka McNeill and guard Jasmen Walton were all honored before the game. 
• Chanin Scott, who was honored last season, also played in her final game at Corbett. Scott has scored 601 points in two years as an Aggie. 
• Chellia Scott's 32 points mark the third time this season an opposing player has scored 30 points or more against A&T. It is the most points an opposing player has scored against the Aggies since Florida A&M's Jasmine Grice scored 38 in an 82-77 A&T win on Feb. 8, 2014. t
• The Aggies will open the tournament against UNC Asheville. The two teams have only played once this season, a 75-68 Aggies win at UNC Asheville. Shareka McNeill led the Aggies with 25 points. 
• On Saturday, the Aggies failed to get head coach Tarrell Robinson his 100th win at Corbett. He will have to wait until next season. 
• A&T will be going after their second consecutive conference tournament championship, the fourth overall under Robinson. The Aggies have also made three NCAA appearances under Robinson and six postseason appearances collectively.