Despite struggling to hit free throws late in the game, the Aggies survived a late Lafayette rally to win 65-63 at Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum. Ta’Wuana Cook led the Aggies with 17 points, while Brittanie Taylor-James and Amber Bland added 16 and 15 points respectively.

The Aggies led 57-45 with 7:10 remaining in the game thanks to a Taylor-James layup. But with 1:56 to play, Cristin Zovocki’s 3-pointer pulled the Leopards to within four at 61-57. Zavocki had a chance to cut the lead to one seconds later with another 3-pointer, but saw her shot rim out.

Again, it was Taylor-James who came up with a big shot as she used a pump fake and a dribble move to free herself for a jump shot that gave the Aggies a 63-57 advantage. Zavocki answered with another layup to trim the lead to four. The Aggies, who did hit 18 of 26 free throws on Tuesday, would begin to miss some crucial free throws down the stretch.

Cook made one of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to give the Aggies a 64-59 lead. After Elizabeth Virgin hit a jumper for the Leopards, an Aggies turnover gave the Leopards the ball back with 13 seconds remaining. LaKeisha Wright took a pass from Jessica Spicer in the lane to score and put the Leopards down one, 64-63.

The Leopards fouled Bland to stop the clock with 11 seconds left on it. Bland hit one of two free throws, giving the Leopards a chance to either tie or win the game. But instead of shooting the ball from the top of the key, Spicer decided to pass the ball as time was running out. The extra pass cost the Leopards a chance to at least take a game-winning or tying shot as time expired.

The defensive lineup appeared to have some success. N.C. A&T did record 13 steals against the Leopards after having just five against Liberty the night before. In her first career start, Thomas played strong defensively, scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals.

Offensively, the Aggies still turned to Taylor-James. With the Aggies leading 36-34 with 15:31 remaining in the game, Taylor-James hit six straight points over the next two minutes to give the Aggies a 42-35 advantage. The Aggies would hit six consecutive free throws, and use a Bland 3-pointer and layup in a four-minute stretch to give them their first double-digit lead of the game at 53-43.