A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Chanin Scott (22 pts., 10 rebs., 3 assists, 2 blocks, 9-for-11 FGS), C Jazmin Harris (10 pts., 5 rebs.), G Jordyn Dorsey (5 rebs., 5 assists).

UNC ASHEVILLE STATISTICAL LEADERS: Nadiria Evans (20 pts., 4 rebs., 3 assists, 2 steals, 7-for-16 FGS), Jordaynia Ivie (20 pts., 5 steals, 7-for-11 FGS, 4-for-6 3-point FGs).

WHY A&T DID NOT GET THE W: UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs came out ready to play and ready to knock down shots. The Bulldogs started the game 3-for-8 and then hit five straight shots to take an 18-11 first-quarter lead. They then closed the first quarter 2-for-2 from the field before starting the second quarter 6-for-6 to take a 39-17 lead with 4:38 remaining in the first half. 

WHY UNCA DID THE GET W: Jordaynia Ivie and Nadiria Evans. The Bulldog guard combo got off to great starts that the Aggies could not overcome. Ivie, a freshman guard out of St. Louis, Mo., connected on 3 of 4 3-pointers on her way to 15 first-half points. Evans had 10 first-half points on 4-for-9 shooting. Evans had 24 in a loss to the Aggies on Jan. 25 in Asheville. 

CRUCIAL: The Aggies mounted a comeback in the third quarter after outscoring UNC Asheville 23-9 to cut the lead to 52-49. However, the Bulldogs started the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to prevent A&T from completing the comeback.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North Carolina A&T's first and last season in the Big South Conference did not end well for the women's basketball team Tuesday night at the Bojangles' Coliseum. 

In the first round of the Big South tournament, the sixth-seeded Aggies were upset by the 11th-seeded UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 69-59. As a result, a&T's season came to an end at 14-15. The Aggies were 11-7 in the Big South in their first year in the conference. 

"I'm disappointed," said A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. "It's our last year in the Big South. Hats off to the Lady Bulldogs."

UNCA got off to a terrific start and led 43-26 at halftime by shooting 60.7 percent from the floor. UNCA sophomore forward Abigail Wilson made things worse for A&T when she opened the second half with a jump shot to put the Bulldogs ahead by 19. 

The Aggies then began to mount a response. Graduate Kiana Adderton started the rally when she took a pass from freshman Jordyn Dorsey and scored on a jumper. Then, sophomore D'Mya Tucker scored two straight buckets to get the Aggies to within 13, with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter. 

A&T's deficit stayed at double figures over the next three minutes until back-to-back jump shots from graduate forward Chanin Scott got the Aggies to within nine, 49-40. Then, two Jazmin Harris free throws got the Aggies to within seven. 

After a Bulldogs free throw, a 3-point play by sophomore Faith Blackstone cut UNCA's lead to 50-45 with 1:19 to play in the quarter. 

The Aggies had a chance to cut into the lead more, but an Aggies turnover led to a transition layup by Jordaynia Ivie to put the Bulldogs up seven. But the Aggies scored the final four points of the third, turning a 19-point deficit into a three-point deficit, 52-49, over nine minutes of action. 

But the Aggies turned the ball over twice in their first two possessions of the fourth quarter. UNCA took full advantage by going on an 11-2 run over the first four minutes of the fourth to take a 63-51. The closest the Aggies got the rest of the way was eight. 

"We had some opportunities in the second half to tie the game up," said Robinson. "But they didn't stop fighting and got the results they wanted." 

Now Robinson and crew will be looking for the results they want in a new conference next season as they enter the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They will do it without Scott, who scored 623 points in two years in an Aggies uniform. The Aggies will also lose Harris, an honorable mention all-conference performance in the Big South, and Adderton, who scored 1,000 points in her collegiate career. 

Three-point shooting threat Shareka McNeill was also honored on A&T's Senior Day, which means the Aggies may be without their top four scorers from the 2021-22 season as they go into the 2022-23 season. Four-year senior Jasmen Walton and point guard Kennedy Boyd were also honored on Senior Day.  

QUOTABLE: "I thought they got off to a tremendous start. They jumped on us. Had a lot of energy, a lot more than us." 

Head Coach Tarrell Robinson on the Aggies fast start

GAME NOTES 

• Tuesday marked just the second time in 10 seasons a Tarrell Robinson-coached team got eliminated from a conference tournament in the first game. 
• Tuesday marked the ninth time in Chanin Scott's A&T career she scored 20 points or more. 
• Her 22-point, 10-rebound performance also marked her 12th double-double as an Aggie. 
• Robinson will head into next season needing only three wins to become the A&T women's basketball program's all-time winningest coach, passing Tim Abney (1986-99). 
• A&T finished below .500 for just the third time in the past 16 seasons. 
• The Aggies 13 points off the bench are the fewest since they scored nine against Longwood on Dec. 29 at Corbett Sports Center.