WASHINGTON, D.C. – With two of the best guards in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) saddled with foul trouble early, the CAA tournament semifinal women's basketball game at the Entertainment & Sports Arena between the North Carolina A&T Aggies and the Stony Brook Seawolves Saturday afternoon came down to who could survive the respective personnel losses.
It was the top-seeded Seawolves as they advanced to the conference tournament final by eliminating the Aggies with a 59-51 win over the Aggies. SBU improved to 27-3 overall, and A&T dropped to 20-11.
SBU survived with efficiency, converting on 20 of its 49 shot attempts. The Aggies took 71 shots, making only 21 to shoot 29.6 percent on the afternoon. Redshirt sophomore center Chaniya Clark secured her third double-double in four games by finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds. Senior guard D'Mya Tucker finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
But A&T's first-team All-CAA guard Jordyn Dorsey picked up her second foul with 4:05 remaining in the first half and her third foul with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter, limiting her effectiveness for the Aggies. She did not score until the final second of the ballgame, going 1-for-12 from the floor. The Aggies also had 21 offensive rebounds.
On the flip side, referees called CAA player of the year Gigi Gonzalez for her second foul at the outset of the second quarter. She played only 21 minutes, scoring nine points. Yet, the Seawolves managed to maintain the lead for nearly three-fourths of the game.
"They can play bad and look good," said A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson. "We forced them to 21 turnovers. We forced them to 15 turnovers in the second half, but they were still steady and never got rattled. Even with having to keep our conference player of the year, Ms. Gonzalez, on the bench, they still found a way to stay within the game, and they were able to win this game ugly. Hats off to them."
Gonzalez's second foul came when she made contact with D'Mya Tucker on a turnaround jump shot that Tucker converted for an attempt at a 3-point play. Tucker missed the free throw, keeping the game knotted at 18-18, but Gonzalez had to go to the bench. The two teams fought through three ties over the next five minutes. Along the way, Dorsey picked her second foul, but senior guard Maleia Bracone gave the Aggies the lead with a crossover dribble that led her down the lane for a layup and a 28-26 A&T lead.
It marked A&T's final lead of the game. The Seawolves scored the final six points of the half to take a 32-28 halftime lead. Dorsey fouled Gonzalez 4 ½ minutes into the second half, sending Gonzalez to the free throw line. She made one of two, Dorsey went to the bench, and Sherese Pittman netted a three from the corner to give the Seawolves a 40-30 lead.
The Aggies fought back, going on an 8-2 run culminating in Clark putting back a Dorsey miss to cut SBU's lead to 42-38. But before the end of the third quarter, Zaida Gonzalez hit a three to push SBU's lead to seven. SBU grew its lead to 11, 53-42, on two Gigi Gonzalez free throws with 4 ½ minutes remaining in the game.
Tucker responded by swishing a 3-pointer and knocking down two free throws to get the Aggies to within six. But layups from Victoria Keenan and Khari Clark put the game away, leading to the Seawolves playing in the conference championship game versus Drexel on Sunday. Clark led the Seawolves with 14 points.
"We are earning and gaining respect," said Robinson about his team completing its second year in the CAA. "We want to continue to recruit the type of young women that want to represent this university and this program and want to be coached by me. If we do that, we will continue to put an excellent product out there."
