EAST GREENSBORO – Defense led Tarrell Robinson-coached North Carolina A&T women's basketball teams to three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament championships and four MEAC regular-season titles. Therefore, why change now?
In its first season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), A&T is in first place after seven games after defeating the Stony Brook Seawolves 68-60 Friday night at Corbett Sports Center. A&T is 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the CAA, giving the Aggies a half-game lead over Drexel. Stony Brook falls to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the CAA.
"It was a good team win," said sophomore forward Laila Acox, who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists on 4-for-6 shooting. "We all came out and played together. We executed everything that we went over during practice. I love how we come together and play together."
That certainly was the case on the defensive end. Stony Brook made one of its last 12 shots, including missing their final nine field goal attempts. The Seawolves also turned the ball three times in the final five minutes.
Meanwhile, the Aggies closed the game on a 9-0 run thanks to a Jazmin Harris jumper that gave the Aggies the lead for good in the fourth quarter and 7-for-10 shooting from the free throw line. Harris came off the bench to score 15 points and secure seven rebounds.
Stony Brook led by nine points, 45-36, with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter, but A&T outscored the Seawolves 10-1, using four points from Acox to tie the game at 46.
"I hope we get that Laila Acox for the rest of the season," Robinson said. "She's so impactful. She scored 12 points, but the impact she made defensively is phenomenal. She has a chance to be one of the best defensive players we've ever had."
Anastasia Warren, who finished with a game-high 25 points, halted the Aggies momentum with a 3-pointer before two D'Mya Tucker free throws sent the Aggies into the fourth quarter trailing 49-48.
Junior Levossie Taylor opened the fourth quarter by giving the Aggies the lead on a 3-point play for a 51-49 lead. Stony Brook scored the next five points, which included another three from Warren to put the Seawolves ahead by three, 54-51. The two teams traded baskets before Harris lasered a pass from the high post to Taylor in the low post for an easy layup as the Aggies trailed 56-55 with eight minutes to play.
A&T junior Maleia Bracone followed up with a 3-pointer to give A&T a 58-56 lead. Warren responded again by finding a way to dribble through A&T's defense for a layup to tie the game. A Harris free throw gave the Aggies the lead again before Sherese Pittman's jumper put Stony Brook in the lead, 60-59.
Warren had a chance to add to Stony Brook's lead but finally missed. Harris tried to score on the Aggies next possession but missed her layup. Tucker gave her a second chance by grabbing the rebound. Harris took her second opportunity to step away from the basket, netting a jumper from the free throw line. It gave the Aggies a 61-60 lead with 3:13 to play, sparking the Aggies 9-0 run.
"They are a really good team, well coached and very disciplined," said Robinson. "They gave us everything. The crazy thing about it is that ball bounces a different way; one shot goes in, and they could have won the game. Hats off to my young women for fighting. For responding. Everyone that played gave maximum effort. We executed when we needed to."
Stony Brook started the game by converting four of the first six shots to take a 9-0 lead over the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game. A&T outscored Stony Brook 9-2 over the next three minutes to cut the Seawolves lead to 11-9. Two Warren 3-pointers helped Stony Brook extend its lead to 17-11 before two Harris free throws sent the Aggies into the second quarter trailing 17-13.
The two teams battled to a 30-30 tie in the second quarter, but Stony Brook went on a 7-2 run to end the first half and take a 37-32 lead into the locker room.
In the first half, Stony Brook shot 45.2 (14-for-31) percent from the floor, but in the second half, they only shot 32.1 percent. Meanwhile, the Aggies shot 50 percent for the game, a season-high in CAA conference play.
The Aggies defense was highlighted by Seawolves guard Gigi Gonzalez recording a game-high 10 assists but going 1-for-10 from the field. She came into the game averaging 12.1 points.
