PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The North Carolina A&T women's basketball team was a double-digit second-half lead and overtime loss away from claiming a share of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular-season championship in its first season in the league after going into Daskalakis Athletic Center and defeating reigning four-time CAA regular-season champion Drexel, 59-57, Saturday afternoon.
Junior Maleia Bracone hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining in the game to ice the win as the Aggies finished their initial regular season in the CAA 18-11 overall and 12-6 in the league. The Aggies tied for fourth with the second-best record and will go into the CAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament as the No. 5 seed.
They will play the winner of the March 8, 12/13 game between Hofstra and UNC Wilmington on Thursday, March 9, at 2:30 p.m. from Towson University's SECU Arena.
Drexel, Towson and Northeastern finished in a three-way tie for first, and A&T finished in a tie with William & Mary, who defeated the Aggies 79-64 in Corbett Sports Center on Feb. 12 to earn the tiebreaker and the No. 4 seed. A&T had a chance to be among the first-place group but lost a heartbreaker at Delaware 79-75 in overtime.
"After a letdown on Thursday against Delaware, I am so thankful to coach a group of young women that respond the way this group does," said A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson. "Drexel has been the standard in the CAA for a while. To go into their gym on Senior Night and get this gives us a sense of belief that we can become the standard in the league one day."
On Saturday, the Aggies were able to win without star center Jazmin Harris. Sophomore Laila Acox came off the bench to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds on 7-for-7 shooting in 22 minutes of action. Redshirt freshman Chaniya Clark had 11 points and five rebounds, and Bracone added 10 points and six assists.
Drexel did not have the lead for only eight minutes of the game, but the Aggies managed to tie the game at 43 with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter, which Bracone capped with a free throw. Two Kylie Lavalle free throws gave the Dragons a 45-43 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Lavalle's free throws also sparked a 7-0 run as the Dragons opened the fourth with a Keishana Washington 3-pointer and a Jasmine Valentine jumper to give Drexel a 50-43 lead with 8:21 remaining in the game. But the Aggies outscored the Dragons 6-2 over the next three minutes to get to within three at 52-49.
A Lavalle three pushed the lead to six before Bracone responded with a three. Washington knocked down a jumper to give the Dragons a 57-52 lead with 3:50 to play. It marked the Dragons' final points of the game. The Aggies ramped up the defensive intensity and produced enough offense to knock off the perennial regular-season champs.
Acox's putback cut Drexel's lead to 57-55 with 1:46 to play. Fifty seconds later, Clark took a pass from Jordyn Dorsey and scored to tie the game at 57. The two teams combined to turn the ball over five times in the final 46 seconds of the game, the final turnover belonging to the Dragons as Bracone came up with a steal and drew a foul from Maura Hendrixson, leading to Bracone game-winning freebies.
A&T enters the tournament looking for its second NCAA appearance in three seasons. The Aggies swept UNCW and beat Hofstra 63-44 in Hempstead, NY, on Jan. 8. If A&T wins on Thursday, they will face William & Mary Friday afternoon at 2:30.
