PRINCESS ANNE, MD. (January 14, 2019) – North Carolina A&T was missing two of its top scorers in what eventually became a wacky road game against an opponent that was undefeated in the conference. Despite the odds, the Aggies won.
Junior C'Coriea Foy and freshman Charme Lilly hit big shots down the stretch and junior Le'on Hill made a key defensive play late to the lead the Aggies to a 51-49 win over Maryland Eastern Shore at Hytche Center on Monday night in women's basketball.
The Aggies played without leading scorer Cinia McCray who was injured just before the start of Monday's game. They also played without freshman standout Rayven Peeples who was coming off a 17-point day at Delaware State on Saturday before leaving the game with an injury.
Yet, behind a strong defensive effort and 12 points from Foy, the Aggies (6-10, 3-0 MEAC) remained undefeated in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play while handing MDES (7-10, 3-1 MEAC) their first conference loss.
“We can mark this off as a character win,” said N.C. A&T coach Tarrell Robinson. “It's about the next woman up and freshman Jasmen Walton and Charme Lilly stepped into some big roles for us tonight. I thought C'Coriea Foy stepped up and finally showed everyone what she's made of. We're still in the process of trying to get better, so it's good to still be in the process and yet still come out with the victory.”
The Aggies had to overcome a 10-point second-half deficit to get that victory. With 7:40 remaining in the game, the Aggies still trailed 41-37. But when Lilly splashed a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 42-41 lead 4 ½ minutes to play, it was the Aggies first lead since it was 2-1, 36 seconds into the game. The Hawks would regain the lead by two, 44-42 before Lilly knocked down a three to put the Aggies back in front.
MDES recaptured the lead with a 3-pointer from Keyera Eaton to make it 47-45. But Foy, who struggled from 3-point range most of the night, netted a three from the elbow to put the Aggies up one, 48-47 with 1:57 to play.
Foy struck again for the Aggies as junior point guard Mikaya Wilson grabbed an offensive rebound, whipped a pass over to Foy for a layup to put the Aggies ahead by three with 1:16 remaining. The game then turned wacky.
Dominique Walker got the Hawks to within one, 50-49, on an offensive put back. Lilly followed by missing a layup on the other end with 23 seconds remaining giving the Hawks a chance to win the game. But Hawks guard Ciani Byrom threw the ball into the hands of Hill on the inbounds for the steal.
Hill, however, missed the wide-open layup with 18 seconds remaining, giving the Hawks another shot at victory. But Lilly knocked the ball away from Byrom and into the hands of Wilson for the steal. With two seconds remaining, Wilson hit one of two free throws to seal the win.
“Le'on Hill missed that layup but then she made a tremendous play on the defensive end,” said Robinson. “It's good when you see your young ladies get over something quickly and make a play.”
The Aggies now have three key road wins to open the conference season and have won 11 straight conference road games. They have also won 23 out of their last 25 games against conference foes including in the MEAC tournament. The Aggies last conference road loss came at MDES on Feb. 20, 2017.
It was a low-scoring game throughout the first half. The Hawks went on a 7-0 run to end the first quarter to take a 13-6 lead. However, N.C. A&T opened the second quarter with a 6-1 run to get to within two. Senior center Charnise Tyler sent the Aggies into the locker room down 19-16 with a short baseline jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining in the half.
MDES opened the second half with a hot start going on an 11-4 run to go ahead by 10 before the Aggies rallied.
“The game was everything you expected it to be with two teams who are undefeated in the conference,” said Robinson “The game is about how the ball bounces and it bounced in our favor tonight.”
Byrom and Eaton led MDES with 13 points apiece. The Aggies will play at home for the first time in conference play when they host Morgan State 2 p.m, Saturday, January 19 at Corbett Sports Center.
