HAMPTON, Va. – On New Year's Eve, North Carolina A&T women's basketball coach Tarrell Robinson walked into his postgame press conference after the Aggies' final non-conference game of 2024-25 and had a message.
He reminded everyone that nothing that has happened during the season thus far, not even A&T's 4-7 non-conference record, to take any luster away from the Aggies being the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) preseason favorite because no CAA games had taken place yet.
Five days and two CAA games later, that remains a fact.
The Aggies got off to a tremendous start Sunday afternoon against longtime HBCU rival Hampton University and sprinted to the finish line in a 75-48 win at the Hampton University Convocation Center.
A&T shot a season-best 51.8 percent to improve to win their fourth straight to improve to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in CAA play. The Hampton Pirates got 18 points from Jasha Clinton but dropped to 4-9 overall and 0-2 against conference competition.
"When you're playing on the road, getting off to a great start is the key ingredient to coming out with the victory and surviving the run Hampton made in the second half," said Robinson, who improved to 33-1 in his career when his teams shoot better than 50 percent.
The Aggies led 17-3 over the first 4 ½ minutes of the game and led 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. They led by 15 five minutes into the second quarter before the Pirates, who upset the University of Georgia earlier this season, started to mount a comeback.
Hampton outscored A&T 15-6 to end the half, which included a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Malaka Cobb to cut the Aggies lead to 36-30 at halftime.
Despite Hampton's best efforts, the Aggies never lost their edge from their fast start. An and-1 from Jasha Clinton did bring the Pirates to within five, 40-35, with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter, but the Aggies turned it on offensively from there.
A&T went 6-for-7 (.857) from the floor over the final four minutes of the third quarter. When Jordyn Dorsey splashed a three off a pass from Maleia Bracone, the Aggies took a 51-39 lead with 50 seconds remaining in the third. The Aggies led by double figures the rest of the way as Bracone ended the quarter with a three off a pass from Ajia James.
The Aggies have shot better than 50 percent in two of their last three games. They shot 64.3 percent in the fourth quarter against IU Indy at the FGCU Holiday Classic in Florida on December 21. A&T shot 56 percent in the second half in their win over Elon on Friday.
That comprises the Aggies' four-game winning streak.
"We're moving the ball more and not settling for outside shots," Robinson said. "We keep preaching inside-out when it comes to the offensive end of the floor."
Dorsey led the Aggies with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. A&T center Chaniya Clark added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for her first double-double of the season and the 14th of her career. Bracone posted 12 points and seven assists, and James connected on four threes to finish with 12 points.
The Aggies return to the road, traveling to Newark, Del., to face the University of Delaware Blue Hens Friday night at 6:30.
