PHILADELPHIA – North Carolina A&T let a double-digit second-half lead slip away Sunday afternoon in a 65-63 overtime loss to the Drexel Dragons at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
A&T's women's basketball went into overtime for the second time in three games, and it entered its third overtime game in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) conference play. However, unlike A&T's first two successful overtime ventures, a late turnover proved costly on Sunday. The Aggies saw their two-game winning streak end, dropping to 11-16 overall and 6-10 in CAA play.
Drexel got 25 points from Amaris Baker to improve to 19-8 overall and 12-4 in league play.
Nine days after becoming the first player in program history to record a triple-double, A&T junior forward Paris Locke flirted with another one, recording nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Fifth-year senior teammate Chaniya Clark recorded her fifth double of the season and the 25th of her career with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
A&T has a double overtime win and a triple overtime win in conference play this season, both against Northeastern. It did not look as if it would come to that on Sunday. A Locke driving layup put the Aggies ahead 38-24 with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter. Five minutes later, sophomore Rachel Griffin gave the Aggies a 48-36 lead on two free throws before Drexel's Laine McGurk scored on a layup to bring the Dragons to within 10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Drexel got A&T's lead down to seven, 49-42, over the first 84 seconds of the fourth quarter. But a three from graduate guard D'Mya Tucker, a blocked shot from Griffin, and a layup by Griffin pushed A&T's lead to double figures at 54-42 with 7:08 remaining in the game. The Aggies still led by double figures, 56-46, with 5:16 remaining, thanks to two free throws from freshman Crystal Hardy before the Dragons made their move.
The Aggies went scoreless for almost five minutes. In the interim, the Dragons scored 12 straight points to take the lead, 58-56, on a Baker layup with 1:07 remaining in the game. Clark finally ended the Aggies' scoring drought when she put back a Locke miss to tie the game 58-58 with 33 seconds to play. Clark then blocked Baker's game-winning shot attempt to send the game into an extra five minutes of play.
In the extra period, Drexel built a 65-60 lead with two minutes remaining. Freshman Jamyia Lindsey drove the lane and scored to cut Drexel's advantage to three. After a timeout, the Aggies forced a Drexel turnover, giving the Aggies the ball back with 90 seconds to play. Locke then drove down the lane but missed the layup. Clark claimed the rebound and got fouled by Grace O'Neill. Clark missed the first free throw but made the second to get the Aggies to within two, 65-63.
A missed turnaround jumper by Deja Evans kept the Aggies alive as Lindsey grabbed the rebound with 32 seconds remaining and raced down the court. The ball eventually landed in the hands of Locke, who whipped over a pass to sophomore Elliott Jessup, who tried to float a pass to Clark, who was positioned in the post. Unfortunately, McGurk intercepted the pass as time ran out.
It was a tough defeat for an A&T team that held the lead for a little more than 32 minutes on Sunday. The Aggies turned the ball over 17 times and were outscored 24-11 in points off turnovers. They will try to close on a hot streak with their final two regular-season games at home inside Corbett Center.
A&T will host UNC Wilmington on Thursday at 7 p.m., before closing the regular season against CAA regular-season champion College of Charleston on Saturday at 2 p.m. The 2026 CAA Credit Union 1 Women's Basketball Championship Tournament starts Wednesday, March 11, at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, DC.
