MORAGA, Calif. – Second halves did not treat the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team kindly on the West Coast. For the second time in as many days, a second-half outburst prevented the Aggies from emerging victorious during the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic hosted by St. Mary's College (SMC) at UCU Pavilion.
The culprit on Saturday was the UT Arlington Mustangs (UTA), whose second half led them to an 87-76 win over A&T. The Mustangs outscored A&T 49-37 in the second half while shooting 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the floor. The Mustangs secured their first victory of the season, improving to 1-5. The Aggies went 0-2 at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic to drop to 3-3 on the season after SMC's second half proved effective against A&T on Friday.
With 1:12 remaining in the first half, Maleia Bracone took a pass from Jordyn Dorsey and netted a three to tie the game at 36-36. Forty-two seconds later, Bracone found Talia Davis open for a 3-pointer that connected. Avery Brittingham scored in the paint right before halftime to cut the Aggies lead to 39-38 at the half.
The first five minutes of the second half went well for A&T. Two Dorsey free throws gave the Aggies a 46-44 lead two minutes into the third quarter. It ignited an 8-2 spurt from the Aggies that culminated with California native Nyah Willis following her miss to give A&T a 52-46 lead with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter.
UTA grew its lead to double figures three minutes into the fourth quarter, 68-58, on a Taliyah Clark layup. That lead grew to 15, 79-64, with 2:15 remaining in the game on a 3-point play by Clark. Bracone led the Aggies with an outstanding overall game. She finished with 21 points, five steals, four rebounds and four assists on 7-for-12 shooting. Dorsey added 13 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
A&T started the game scorching from the field. The Aggies were 9-for-16 (.563) from the floor and 4-for-7 (.571) from 3-point range as A&T led 24-21 at the end of the first quarter. Twenty-four points are the most in a quarter this season for A&T against a Division I opponent. UTA battled back to outscore the Aggies 9-2 over the first four minutes of the second quarter to take a 30-26 lead.
Keona Curtis scored four points during a 7-1 A&T spurt to give the Aggies a 33-31 lead with 2:32 remaining in the first half. The Mustangs scored the next five points before Bracone's three tied the game at 36. Willis, whose hometown is approximately an hour from St. Mary's College's campus, came off the bench to score 11 points.
Davis finished with 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Clark led UTA with a game-high 25 points. The Aggies will take eight days off from competition before playing their second ACC opponent of the season, No. 20 Louisville.
