Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
The defense was in place all night for the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team in Friday night’s Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opener. Once the Aggies got the offense clicking, they were well on their way to welcoming the 2025 portion of their schedule in fine fashion.
A&T rode a strong second half to a 57-40 victory against Elon at Corbett Sports Center. It marked the 234th career win for Aggies’ head coach Tarrell Robinson. He earned 208 of those wins when the Aggies held an opponent under 40 percent shooting. It’s what his teams do. Elon shot 27.9 percent on Friday night.
“Just being flat-out tough and playing with a lot of intensity,” Robinson said. “A staple of our program – defense. Holding any team around this time of the season to 40 points is impressive.”
The Aggies improved to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in CAA play as Jordyn Dorsey scored 19 points, Maleia Bracone posted a season-high 15 points, and Paris Locke added 11. The Aggies have a three-game winning streak for the first time this season. Elon did not have a player score in double figures, dropping to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Dorsey, who leads the CAA in free throw shooting percentage and free throws made, went 10-for-10 from the foul line.
After Elon pulled even at 26-26 in the third quarter, Bracone had all of A&T’s points in an 8-2 spurt. Then Locke drained a corner three and followed that with a basket in transition for a 39-28 advantage. So, after going 0-for-9 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Aggies connected three times from beyond the arc in a two-minute span.
“Just kind of trusting myself,” Bracone said. “Having that confidence, knowing that the next shot was going to go in. Keeping the same form, keep the balance. My teammates were driving and kicking.”
Elon threatened again before back-to-back buckets from Locke restored the double-digit margin at 45-35. The gap ballooned to 57-35 with the Aggies putting together a 16-0 run.
“It’s a team sport, and I do believe if we’re going to get it done, we’re going to get it done together,” said Dorsey, who also supplied a game-high six assists. “I try to lead by example. I try to push the ball as much as I can. If they crowd in on me, I know I’ve got a shooter to my left and a shooter to my right.”
A&T center Chaniya Clark turned in eight points, 10 rebounds, and blocked five shots. The Aggies said they liked their attention to detail on defense.
“I think being on the same page and really wanting to play ball for each other and having each other’s backs,” Dorsey said.
While the defense was getting it done, the offense finally came to life. Robinson said having seniors such as Dorsey and Bracone gives him a degree of confidence.
“I trust that they’re going to find a way to figure it out,” he said. “And they have, and they’re going to continue to.”
From the beginning, the Aggies were up to the task defensively, even though Elon pulled even at 8-8 by the end of the first quarter. With 12 points, Dorsey had more than half of the Aggies’ points as the team clung to a 22-21 halftime lead after Elon scored four points in the final 29 seconds before the break.
“We’re going to get everyone’s best game,” Dorsey said. “You’re going to get my best game every night.”
Robinson heard that comment and nodded his head in approval.
“Now it’s separation time, and we took care of business tonight,” the coach said. “We got to keep that same energy.”
The rematch with Elon comes on March 2 at Elon’s Schar Center. A&T’s next home game isn’t until January 17 against Drexel at 7 p.m.
