ATHENS, Ga. – North Carolina A&T women's basketball took aim at its fourth Power Four opponent this season in the morning. It started well for the Aggies, but the University of Georgia (UGA) pulled away for a 77-49 win at Stegeman Coliseum Arena on Monday.
Graduate D'Mya Tucker and junior Darrionna Howard had 11 points apiece for the Aggies, who dropped to 3-6 on the season. UGA leading scorer Dani Carnegie led UGA with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on 8-for-13 shooting. Rylie Theuerkauf made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points as UGA improved to 11-0.
The Aggies opened the season with two Big 12 schools in Texas Tech and then 17th-ranked TCU before hosting the University of North Carolina at Corbett Sports Center. The Bulldogs took an 8-2 lead before the Aggies heated up offensively. A D'Mya Tucker 3-pointer cut the Bulldogs' lead to three at 10-7. A jumper by freshman point guard Ja'naya Meyers sent the Aggies into the second quarter trailing only 18-15.
A free throw from graduate guard Jordan Brown got the Aggies to within two to open the third quarter before sophomore forward Elliott Jessup took a pass from fifth-year senior center Chaniya Clark and netted a 3-pointer from the top of the key to bring the Aggies to within one, 20-19, with 8 ½ minutes to play in the first half. UGA went on a massive run from there.
Theuerkauf capped a 16-1 UGA run with a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 36-20 advantage with 2:18 remaining in the first half. However, the Aggies had a rebuttal. Meyers drove the lane for a layup, followed by Brown finding sophomore center Rachel Griffin underneath the basket for a layup, and ended with a Darrionna Howard bucket from Tucker to send the Aggies into the locker room trailing 36-26 at halftime.
A&T still trailed by 10, 43-33, after Meyers drove to the basket to score on another layup with 4 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter. But another big UGA run helped the Bulldogs pull away for good. UGA outscored the Aggies 8-0 over the next two minutes to take a 51-33 lead. A free throw from Brown, followed by two layups from Howard, got the Aggies to within 13 before Theuerkauf netted yet another 3-pointer to send the Bulldogs into the fourth quarter leading 54-38.
UGA outscored A&T 23-11 in the fourth quarter to clinch the win. The Bulldogs are the final Power Four on the Aggies' schedule. A&T has two Division II schools remaining on its non-conference slate as the Aggies welcome Ferrum into Corbett Sports Center on Saturday, December 20, at 2 p.m., and Newberry College comes to Corbett on Tuesday, December 30, at 5 p.m.
Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play begins afterward with the Aggies, the defending CAA regular-season champion, hosting defending CAA tournament champion William & Mary on Friday, January 2, at 7 p.m.
