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The North Carolina A&T women’s basketball program is in its third season as a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) member.
With A&T’s convincing 74-51 win over the Hampton Pirates Friday night (Jan. 31) in front of 4,847 Greek Night fans at Corbett Sports Center, the Aggies are off to their third straight 8-1 start in the CAA conference.
Only this time, they are hoping the third time is a charm.
A&T’s other two 8-1 starts did not result in CAA regular-season championships. To prepare this time, the Aggies want to learn from the previous two 8-1 starts.
“I’ve talked to them about not being complacent, making sure you’re getting better,” said A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson, who saw his Aggies improve to 33-12 during their time in the CAA. “The second time around, people watch a lot of film, so whatever our habits are, we can’t be that.
“We have to get better. We have to know our offense. We have to know what’s next when (our opponents) take something away. That is what hurt us in the past, and we are trying to address it. They’re trying to address it, and I think we are addressing it. We’re going to get the results we want.”
A&T certainly got what they wanted from Friday’s game. Graduate guard Maleia Bracone helped the Aggies improve to 12-8 overall and 10-1 in their last 11 games by finishing with season highs in points (17), rebounds (8) and assists (6) on 6-for-8 shooting.
“I wanted to be more aggressive,” said Bracone, who added she had a conversation with her head coach about not settling for shots. “It’s about being more aggressive and letting (the game) come to me. That played a pretty big role.”
Hampton started the game in a 2-3 zone, keeping the Aggies off-balance early. Two Aisha Dabo free throws brought the Pirates to within one in the first quarter, 13-12. But freshman Elliott Jessup hit the first of her three 3-pointers on her way to her first career game scoring in double figures with 11 points to give the Aggies a four-point advantage.
“I felt good tonight. (The Pirates) weren’t playing me as a shooter tonight, and I know I can shoot, so when they were leaving me open, I just let it fly,” said Jessup.
The Aggies ended the first quarter on a Bracone putback to go into the second quarter with a 19-14 lead. A Bracone 3-pointer with four minutes remaining in the first half gave the Aggies expanded A&T’s lead to 29-19. Bracone’s shot started a fun exchange of perimeter shooting between Bracone and Hampton’s Tiana Abrams.
Abrams answered Bracone’s three with one of her own from the top of the key before Bracone returned in transition, taking a pass from Reiven Douglas to net another three. Abrams ended the battle with a corner three to bring the Pirates to within seven at 32-25 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the half.
Hampton’s Cece Thomas got the lead down to five on a runner before A&T sophomore Paris Locke hit a pull-up jumper to give the Aggies a 34-27 lead at the half.
Hampton remained competitive early in the second half as Tyra Kennedy hit a stepback jump shot to bring Hampton to within five at 36-31. However, the Aggies have outscored opponents 664-523 in the second half, and that pattern continued on Friday.
Hampton went seven minutes without a field goal. The Aggies outscored the Pirates 17-2 over that span to take a 53-33 lead with ninety seconds remaining in the third quarter. A&T’s lead increased to as many as 27 in the fourth quarter as the Aggies completed the season sweep.
Coupled with A&T’s 27-point over Hampton earlier this season, Friday’s win marked the first time in the 49-game series history the Aggies have won back-to-back games over Hampton by more than 20 points.
A&T senior guard Jordyn Dorsey added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Locke finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Jasha Clinton led Hampton with a game-high 23 points, but the Pirates fell to 5-15 overall and 1-8 in league play.
This Friday the Aggies will gear up to make a run toward their first-ever CAA regular-season title. When A&T returns to action, it will host College of Charleston on February 7 and Campbell on February 9 at Corbett Sports Center.
“We just want to, at this point, carry every possession, every quarter, every game, and just get better,” Robinson said. “They are excited about the win, but they already know what the standard is, and that makes me proud as a coach that we can win and be excited about it but not be satisfied.”
