WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia -- It came down to the final minute of the game but redshirt sophomore Christina Carter nailed a game-winning 3-pointer to lift the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team to a 60-58 victory over William & Mary at Kaplan Arena Friday evening.
“Christina played big and my hat goes off to her because she had an up and down game,” head coach Tarrell Robinson said. “She was able to pick herself up and make a big play for us at the end. I’m glad we won the game but we’ve got to find a way to get better and find that magic that we had earlier when we were on our seven-game winning streak. We have to figure out a way to find that team again.”
The Aggies (9-2) placed three players in double-figures led by senior Tracy King with 15 points. King’s all-around performance also included a team-high nine rebounds, five steals, and four assists. Junior Ariel Bursey added 12 points and three assists, followed by Carter with 11 points.
The Aggies who led for most of the second half found themselves in their worst nightmare when the Tribe (3-9) finally took its first lead of the game, 58-57 with a layup from Latrice Hunter with 1:39 left in the game. Carter responded with composure and nailed a 3-pointer with 1:09 to put the Aggies back on top 60-58. William & Mary took the final possession and attempted to tie the game at the buzzer with a jumper from Hunter but luckily for the Aggies it bounced off of the rim as time expired.
W&M got within one at the 6:52 mark with a pair of free throws but Ariel Bursey hit a jumper and was fouled which resulted in a 3-point play to put A&T ahead 47-43 with 6:30 left to play. The final minutes turned into a 3-pointer shootout ignited by Marlena Tremba with 3:13 in the game. Tremba’s 3-pointer sliced the Aggies edge to 53-50 but Tracy King answered with her own on the next possession to give A&T a six-point advantage. Hunter hit one from behind the arc with 2:24 left to tie the game at 56 but Aprill McRae made a free throw to put the Aggies up 57-56 with just under two minutes.
McRae fueled the Aggies to start the game,
scoring six of A&T’s eight points to drive it to an early 8-4 edge at the
15:38 mark. A&T stretched its lead to 20-11 with 10:06 remaining but the
Tribe opened up a 14-5 run with under nine minutes left to close out the half.
William & Mary left the Aggies scoreless for nearly five minutes as it cut
its deficit to 25-24 at halftime.
Hunter led all players with 17 points. Tremba
(13), Jazmen Boone (12) and Mathieu (11) all finished in double-digit scoring
for the Tribe.
A&T will host its final non-conference
game on Monday, Jan. 6 against Campbell. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Corbett
Sports Center.
A&T 60,
W&M 58
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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