DURHAM, NC— The North Carolina A&T escaped longtime in-state chief HBCU rival, NCCU, with a 73-67 road victory Tuesday night in non-conference women's basketball action. It was an intense matchup in front of an energetic Aggies and Eagles crowd in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
"In this gym, in this atmosphere, we grew," said Aggies head coach Tarrell Robinson. "We're down (starting forward Paris Locke) and (forward Darrionna Howard). A lot of people stepped up. This definitely helps our confidence."
Fifth-year senior Chaniya Clark certainly shouldered a lot of that weight. She produced her second double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career with 20 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and going 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
Graduate guard D'Mya Tucker and sophomore Elliott Jessup both scored 14 points, which was a career-high for Jessup and a season-high for Tucker.
It was a physical matchup, where the teams combined for 55 fouls, 32 by the Eagles, as three players fouled out, including A&T's Jessup and Jamyia Lindsey and NCCU's Tierney Coleman. NCCU set the tone early, taking a 17-9 lead over the game's first seven minutes. Two Anaya Karriem free throws helped the Aggies go into the second quarter trailing 19-13.
A 3-pointer from NCCU's Shakira Foster gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game, 35-23, with 2:38 remaining in the first half. Tucker drove to the basket to score before the half to send the Aggies into the locker room trailing 38-29. But NCCU's defensive pressure forced A&T into 15 turnovers in the first half. Six first-half threes also aided the Eagles in the first half.
"This game is far from over. Take the lead in the third, win the game in the fourth," Robison said he told his team at halftime.
It actually turned out that way. Clark led a 17-0 A&T run to open the second half with 11 points, including a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 46-38 lead with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. NCCU put up a fight, cutting A&T's lead to 46-43 before the Aggies spurted again, scoring the final seven points of the quarter, capped by an Anaya Karriem putback to give the Aggies a 53-43 lead.
A&T grew its lead to 13 at 59-46 with eight minutes to play, but 12 fourth-quarter A&T turnovers helped the Eagles rally. NCCU got the lead to five, 69-64, with a minute to play. The Aggies' lead was down to three, 70-67, with 23 seconds remaining. However, A&T answered with excellent free throw shooting. Tucker made 3 of 4 from the line late, and A&T went 35-for-43 (.814) from the line for the game.
The Aggies improved to 3-4 overall, earning their first Division I win of the season. NCCU got 13 points from Najah Lane but dropped to 1-7. A&T returns to Corbett Sports Center, Saturday, December 6, to face Norfolk State University at 12 p.m.
