Courtesy of North Carolina A&T State Athletic Communications
Box Score
DURHAM, N.C. – A day after a big third quarter toppled North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T State utilized another massive third-quarter run to take down the Eagles again on Sunday at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
N.C. A&T remained undefeated in the MEAC while winning their ninth straight with a 72-62 win. N.C. A&T is 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference.
"Today was a game we almost let slip away," Aggies head coach Tarrell Robinson said. "We've got to get better from a mental aspect in these back-to-back games. I thought the Lady Eagles responded to their head coach's challenge today. I felt my ladies didn't respond to mine today."
After seeing his team tied at 31 at the half against their chief rival, Robinson watched as his team responded with a 22-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Sunday's third-quarter dominance was not as convincing as Saturday's 36-13 flexing in the third, but the job got done just the same.
Despite another disappointing third quarter, the Eagles (3-6, 1-3 MEAC) proved resilient in the fourth quarter. N.C. A&T's 62-52 lead with 4:44 remaining in the game disappeared after the Eagles put together a 10-0 run to tie the game at 62 with 2:59 to play.
The Aggies recaptured the lead after freshman guard Sean Kelly Darks made a layup 16 seconds later. With 2:19 remaining, an offensive rebound from senior Jayla Jones-Pack led to a Chanin Scott basket to put the Aggies up 66-62. The Aggies iced the game at the free throw line as they went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe over the final 1:45 of the game as Darks made two free throws and Scott came through with four.
"Chanin Scott played special today on both ends of the floor," said Robinson. "All-in-all, getting an on-the-road sweep is a great thing, but to put ourselves in a position to be champions, we've got to get better quickly from our mental approach."
Scott led the team with 22 points and 11 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting from the floor. She added three assists and four steals. Darks had 17 points and five rebounds on 7-for-15 shooting.
Junior guard Jasmen Walton also scored in double-figures with 13 to go along with four rebounds, four steals and a game-high six assists. Jones-Pack led the team with a game-high six blocks and added nine rebounds and two steals.
Over the first half of the first quarter, N.C .A&T grabbed a 10-6 lead. The Eagles would command the other half of the first. A Cherelle Washington 3-pointer and layup gave the Eagles the lead at 11-10. A three from junior Kennedy Boyd put the Aggies back in front before Anissa Rivera hit a 3-pointer for the Eagles to keep the see-saw affair going.
NCCU never trailed again in the first as Washington's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 19-15 lead with 2:02 remaining before Jones-Pack closed out the quarter a layup.
The second quarter played out much like the first quarter. N.C. A&T looked strong over the first minutes, taking a 27-19 lead behind a five-point outburst from Scott to open the quarter. Scott scored nine of the Aggies 14 second-quarter points and had five of their 14 rebounds in the quarter.
The Eagles responded to the Aggies run with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to one, 27-26 with 1:34 remaining in the half. Scott scored the Aggies next four points to give the Aggies a 31-28 lead before Rivera tied the game at 31 with a 3-pointer.
After the Eagles took an early 33-31 lead to open the second half, N.C. A&T's third-quarter excellence started again. An 11-0 run highlighted by Darks' six points gave the Aggies a 42-33 lead with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter. NCCU scored the next four points to cut the lead to five-points, 42-37, with 4:23 remaining in the third.
N.C. A&T outscored the Eagles 11-5 over the quarter's final four minutes as senior Deja Winters 3-pointer gave the Aggies a double-figure lead at 53-41 before a Rivera free throw made it 53-42 going into the exciting fourth quarter.
Rivera led the Eagles with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.