WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Forward Taisha Exanor blocked a 3-point attempt in the waning seconds of Friday's Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) women's basketball contest at Ocean First Bank Center to lead the Monmouth Hawks to a 54-49 upset win over the North Carolina A&T Aggies.
Monmouth's win snaps A&T's impressive eight-game winning streak, handing the Aggies their first loss since December 20, 2024. The Aggies still sit atop the CAA standings despite dropping to 10-8 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Damaris Rodriguez led the Hawks with 18 points as Monmouth evened its record at 9-9 overall and leaped above .500 in CAA play with a 4-3 mark.
The Hawks had the lead for more than 37 minutes Friday night as Belle Kranbuhl used an A&T turnover to score on a jump shot to give the Hawks a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Aggies outscored the Hawks 7-2 over the first five minutes of the second quarter to pull to within two.
But a 12-2 Monmouth run to end the first half gave the Hawks a 31-19 halftime lead.
Monmouth led by as many as 14 in the second half as Rodriguez pulled up on the break to give the Hawks a 42-28 lead with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. However, the reigning co-CAA player of the week, Jordyn Dorsey, started making her presence felt.
She first found an open Maleia Bracone for a 3-point basket before getting a steal and a layup to get the Aggies to within nine. Kemari Reynolds slowed A&T's momentum with a layup to end the third quarter, sending the Aggies into the fourth quarter trailing 44-33.
A 5-0 A&T run greeted the Hawks to open the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 3-point play by Paris Locke. Kranbuhl ended the Aggies' spurt with a layup before Ajia James hit a 3-pointer in transition to cut the Hawks lead to 46-41 with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the game.
The Hawks pushed their lead to eight over the next 3 ½ minutes before Dorsey hit a tough layup, and A&T center Chaniya Clark hit one of two free throws to bring the Aggies to within five, 49-44, with 1:06 to play. But with 54 seconds remaining, Jaye Haynes hit a netted jump shot to give Monmouth a seven-point advantage.
A&T was not quite ready to lose its first conference game of the season as Bracone drove to the basket and scored, which led to an A&T 30-second timeout. Darrionna Howard fouled Reynolds coming out of the timeout. Reynolds made one of two free throws to give Monmouth a 52-46 lead with 43 seconds remaining.
Dorsey then spotted up for a deep three and swished it to make it a one-possession game. On Monmouth's ensuing possession, Howard stepped in front of Rodriguez's drive and took an offensive foul in the paint to give the Aggies the ball back with eight seconds to play.
But as Bracone tried to step into a three to tie the game in the final seconds, Exanor stepped out and blocked her shot to secure the win for Monmouth.
Dorsey led the Aggies with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Clark recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 15th of her career with 11 points and 11 rebounds. A&T will try to get back on the winning track with a 1 p.m. Sunday contest at Hofstra.
