GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T Junior forward
Darrionna Howard drove to the right and got to the middle of the lane, but Towson center Hannah Dereje cut her off, preventing her from getting a shot off before the buzzer sounded. As a result, the Towson Tigers held on to defeat the A&T Aggies 59-57 Friday evening at Corbett Sports Center in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) women's basketball action.
The loss marked the Aggies' third straight defeat, dropping them to 7-12 overall and 2-6 in the CAA. Towson got 19 points off the bench from India Johnston on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 shooting from the line to improve to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
"I see young people playing afraid to make mistakes, and then they're making mistakes," said A&T head coach
Tarrell Robinson. "I also see upperclassmen playing not to make mistakes, and that's what happens with expectations, accountability, and obviously losing and trying to figure it out. It really is simple, but we're making it hard."
A&T had to make a monster rally even to reach the point where Howard had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Aggies trailed 58-49 with 86 seconds remaining in the game. Graduate guard
D'Mya Tucker's pull-up jumper brought the Aggies to within seven before junior
Paris Locke got fouled attempting a 3-pointer.
The Aggies shot 10-for-22 (.455) at the foul line on Friday. But Locke, who shot 9-for-14 from the line, netted all three free throws, cutting the Tiger lead to four. A&T's full-court trap after the free throw led Tigers guard Thalia Shepard to rush a pass that landed in the hands of Tucker. Tucker used the turnover to find Howard underneath for a layup, bringing the Aggies to within two, 58-56, with 38 seconds to play.
More A&T pressure, this time in the halfcourt, led to another rushed pass. This time, freshman guard
Jamyia Lindsey intercepted Johnston's pass and raced up court, locating Locke on the break. Johnston bumped Locke going to the basket, putting the Baltimore native on the line for two shots. Locke made the first free throw but missed the chance to tie by missing the second.
It led to a Shepard rebound and a Locke foul, putting Shepard on the line for two shots. Shepard made one of two, leading to Howard's attempt at late-game heroics.
"It was the best," Robinson said about the game's closing minutes. "It's the best. It's the best brand of basketball. But we got to commit to that. Everybody's got to commit to communicating, to playing with intensity, to anticipating passes, and getting out in transition. That's fun. We waited until we got behind and really saw that we were going to lose to another team that we feel like we can beat."
Four Aggies scored in double figures, led by Tucker, who finished with 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Locke made 9 of 14 free throws to finish with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Outside of Locke, the Aggies were 1-for-8 at the line. Howard and
Chaniya Clark had 10 points apiece, with Howard adding seven rebounds.
After the game, the Aggies took a bus trip to Hampton, Va., where they will face the Hampton Pirates in a rematch from January 18, where the Aggies defeated the Pirates 70-57 at Corbett. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., Sunday, February 1.
