ELON, N.C. – North Carolina A&T had a setback on Friday night with a 63-56 loss to the Elon Phoenix at the Schar Center.
But the Aggies remain atop the women's basketball Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings in a tie with Drexel after the Dragons defeated Northeastern Friday. A&T's loss ended its three-game winning streak, dropping A&T to 14-7 overall and 8-2 in the CAA. Elon has won two out of three to improve to 6-16 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
Elon hit shots, with most of those shots coming in the paint. Elon shot 44.8 percent while outscoring the Aggies 36-18 in the paint. Four Aggies scored in double figures, led by Maleia Bracone, who had 15 points, four steals and four rebounds. Jordyn Dorsey scored 12 points, and D'Mya Tucker and Nyah Willis had 10 points each.
Tucker scored in double figures for the eighth straight game. But Harris' two points ended her double-figure scoring streak at 11.
Elon led by six points, 54-48, with 6:14 remaining in the game, but A&T scored the next five points to pull within a point, 54-53, after three points from Levossie Taylor and a layup from Bracone. Lenaejha Evans increased its lead after a floating jumper to 56-53 with 2:29 left.
Harris made one of two free throws, but Ajia James took a pass from Kamryn Doty and knocked down a jumper to give Elon a 58-54 with 1:43 remaining. But A&T stayed in the game as Tucker scored in transition to cut Elon's advantage to two.
But after each team called timeouts after the basket, James came through again for the Phoenix by knocking down a jumper to give Elon a 60-56 lead with 46 seconds to play. Then, after a Harris miss 13 seconds later, Elon hit three free throws down the stretch to win.
Elon took a 5-0 lead to start the game after A&T committed two turnovers. But Nyah Willis knocked down a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving A&T a 10-9 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The two teams went through three lead changes and three ties before Elon's Chloe Williams' 3-pointer gave Elon a 28-24 lead with 1:50 remaining in the first half. But Dorsey hit a pull-up jumper, and Bracone made a free throw to send the Aggies into the locker room at halftime trailing 28-27.
Elon earned its largest lead of the game in the third quarter Evonna McGill made a jumper to make it a 37-27 game with 5:54 remaining in the period. But A&T outscored the Phoenix 13-5 over the next four minutes, fueled by two Dorsey 3-pointers and one Bracone three, to cut Elon's lead to 42-40. But a McGill 3-point play sent the Phoenix into the fourth quarter leading 45-40.
McGill led Elon with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Raven Preston had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Aggies continue down I-40 to Wilmington, N.C., to face UNC Wilmington Sunday at 2 p.m. before starting a three-game homestand.
