STONY BROOK, NY – Stony Brook University (SBU) guard Sandra Frau-Garcia drove baseline, got cut off by North Carolina A&T forward Anaya Karriem before swining a pass over to teammate Chloe Oliver alone in the corner for a made 3-pointer that propelled the Seawolves to a 56-51 win over the Aggies Sunday afternoon at Stony Brook Arena.
A&T split its Boston/Long Island road trip and will return to North Carolina 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Graduate guard D'Mya Tucker, A&T's latest 1,000-point scorer, led the Aggies with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Preseason All-CAA center Chaniya Clark returned to the lineup after missing two games and posted 11 points. Junior Paris Locke stuffed the stat sheet as usual, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Locke completed an incredible start for A&T, taking a pass from Tucker to score in transition to give the Aggies a 14-2 lead over the game's first 5 ½ minutes. A Frau-Garcia 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining cut that lead to three before Locke's 3-pointer gave the Aggies a 19-13 lead at the end of the first period.
Both teams struggled from the field in the second quarter, making two field goals apiece as the Aggies led 24-22 at halftime.
The Seawolves scored the third quarter's first seven points to take a five-point lead before the Aggies rallied to the game at 31-31 on a Clark 3-pointer, before a jump shot from Tucker helped the Aggies regain the lead. Tucker continued to keep the Aggies afloat in the quarter. Her pull-up jumper gave the Aggies a 35-34 lead, and she stepped in front of the passing lane for a steal and layup to tie the game at 37-37 with 1:43 to play in the period.
Six of Tucker's 13 points came in the third quarter, but her pull-up jumper marked the Aggies' final lead of the game. The Seawolves outscored the Aggies 6-2 over the final 90 seconds of the quarter, which included a Caitlin Frost 3-pointer to send the Seawolves into the final period with a 43-39 lead.
A&T tied the game at 45-45 on another drive to the basket. The Aggies had a chance to take the lead after Delaney Cooper made one of two free throws, but an Aggies turnover led to a Cooper layup to put the Seawolves ahead 48-45 with 4:14 to play. Freshman Anaya Karriem's excellent post move put the Aggies down one before SBU scored the next three points to take a 51-47 lead with 2:13 remaining.
But Tucker came through again for A&T. She netted a 3-pointer to cut the Seawolves' lead to one with 1:52 remaining. The Aggies had a chance to retake the lead, but Karriem lost the ball out of bounds as she tried to make another spin move, leading to Oliver's game-clinching shot.
Led by Frost's 15 points and six rebounds, SBU improved to 8-9 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The Seawolves shot 45.5 percent as compared to the Aggies shooting 38.9 percent. A&T did outscore the Seawolves 9-1 in second-chance points.
The Aggies will take a week off from competition before facing traditional HBCU rival Hampton on Sunday, January 18, at Corbett Sports Center.
