WILMINGTON, NC – Graduate guard Ajia James hit a massive 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game, and senior guard Jordyn Dorsey added two clutch free throws in the final seconds to lead the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team to a 67-64 win over the UNC Wilmington Seahawks Friday night at Trask Coliseum.
Even though the Aggies needed a second-half rally, they remain atop the CAA standings behind a historic night for graduate guard Maleia Bracone, improving to 17-9 overall and 13-2 in CAA action.
Bracone's 20-point outing helped her become the 17th player in A&T women's basketball program history to exceed 1,000 points exclusively in an Aggies uniform. Bracone, who is in her third season at A&T, had already reached the 1,000-point plateau as a collegiate player after spending two seasons at Presbyterian College.
She now has 1,469 career collegiate points, leaving her 31 shy of 1,500. In addition to her scoring output, Bracone also had a career-high seven steals. Her backcourt mate, Dorsey, added 13 points, six rebounds, six steals and four assists.
Despite the efforts of A&T's veteran guards, the Seahawks produced a 7-0 run to end the first half as the run culminated in McCall King hitting a 3-pointer, giving UNCW a 35-25 halftime lead.
Out of the halftime break, the Aggies had an answer for UNCW's late first-half spurt. A&T scored the first 10 points of the third quarter. Bracone and sophomore Paris Locke had four points apiece during the run that tied the ballgame 35-35.
UNCW responded to that offensive outburst by scoring the game's next seven points to take a 42-35 lead with 3 ½ minutes remaining in the third. A&T then topped that by outscoring the Seahawks 14-2 to close out the quarter to take a 49-44 lead going into the final period. Bracone had eight points over the quarter's final 3 ½ minutes, including two 3-pointers.
Graduate Daija Powell ended the quarter with a last-second layup. The Aggies increased their lead to six in the fourth quarter as sophomore Darrionna Howard's putback a missed 3-pointer by Locke to give A&T a 55-49 lead with 7:14 to play.
UNCW scored the next four points to cut the lead to two before the Aggies outscored the Seahawks 7-2 over a 3 ½ minute stretch to give the Aggies a 62-55 lead on a Locke layup with 2:24 remaining. But UNCW's Jania Hall hit a 3-pointer, Evan Miller turned an A&T turnover into a fastbreak layup, and Taylor Henderson hit another layup to tie the game at 62-62 with 1:12 remaining.
But on A&T's ensuing possession, James drained her big-time three to give A&T a three-point advantage with 49 seconds on the clock. Hall responded 14 seconds later with a layup, cutting the lead to one.
James missed her next three, but Bracone earned her seventh steal on UNCW's next possession. Evan Miller fouled Dorsey after a 30-second timeout. Dorsey, second in the league in free throw percentage, netted both free throws to give the Aggies a 67-64 lead with six seconds.
With fouls to give, A&T fouled UNCW twice, preventing the Seahawks from getting off a last-second shot attempt. Henderson led UNCW with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Seahawks dropped to 13-15 overall and 7-8 in league play.
A&T returns to action on Sunday to face the Elon Phoenix for the second time this season. Game time is 1 p.m., from the Schar Center in Elon, NC.
