EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T women's basketball fell to longtime rival Hampton 66-53 Thursday night at Corbett Sports Center.
The loss drops A&T to 15-8 overall and 9-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). A&T dropped entirely out of first place in the CAA for the first time this season. The Aggies are a half-game behind Drexel, who faces College of Charleston Friday.
All three of A&T's CAA losses have come in North Carolina. The win improved Hampton to 8-13 overall and 5-6 in the conference, as Thursday's matchup was the 44th between the two teams.
Maleia Bracone led A&T with 13 points and nine rebounds. Chaniya Clark added 13 points, and Jordyn Dorsey posted 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Hampton used 31 A&T turnovers to outscore the Aggies 25-11 in points off turnovers. The Pirates also made 21 of 23 free throws to shoot 91.3 percent from the line, as opposed to the Aggies shooting only 14-for-28 (.500) from the line.
Hampton pulled away late, yet the Pirates played with a lead for most of the game. A&T only had the lead for two minutes and 38 seconds and never took the lead in the second half.
A Levossie Taylor free throw pulled the Aggies to within one, 40-39, with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter. But the Pirates scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer from Laren Vanarsdale to give the Pirates a 45-39 lead.
The two teams traded two free throws to close the third quarter as Clark hit two free throws, followed by two free throws by Hampton's Camryn Hill before Dorsey ended the quarter with two free throws to send the game into the fourth quarter with Hampton leading 47-43.
A&T never got any closer than four in the fourth quarter. Two Clark free throws pulled the Aggies to within 54-50 with 3:50 remaining in the game. The Pirates then began to distance themselves. Back-to-back jump shots from Nylah Young gave the Pirates a 58-50 lead with 2 ½ minutes to play.
Jazmin Harris then found a cutting D'Mya Tucker going toward the basket for a layup to pull the Aggies to within six. But Hampton was too strong from the line. The Pirates went 8-for-8 from the line over the final 45 seconds, and they were 11-for-12 at the line in the fourth quarter.
Hampton took a 9-2 lead to start the game, but the Aggies battled defensively and trailed 9-6 at the end of the first quarter despite going 3-for-11 (.273) from the floor. A&T took its first lead of the game thanks to a 10-2 run that was started by a Bracone layup and capped by a Bracone jumper to give the Aggies a 16-14 lead with 5:14 remaining in the first half.
Dorsey gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the game at 21-18 with a steal and a layup with three minutes to play in the half. But Hampton outscored A&T 10-2 over the final three minutes of the second quarter to take a 28-23 halftime lead.
Young led the Pirates with 18 points, five rebounds and five steals.
