Big second-half leads A&T women to win over Hampton

A&T junior guard Jordan Dorsey (#21) breezes past defenders. Dorsey had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds against Delaware University. Photo by Kevin Dorsey/Carolina Peacemaker.

It was not your typical North Carolina A&T versus Hampton women’s basketball matchup. Historically, A&T and Hampton have fought for conference supremacy and tournament championships. But on Saturday (Feb. 17), the Aggies used another stellar game from Jordyn Dorsey and got a stellar performance off the bench from Laila Acox to pull away from the Pirates in the second half.

The result was a 73-58 win at Corbett Sports Center, keeping the Aggies in a tie for first in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The Aggies improved to 16-7 overall and 10-2 in conference play. Stony Brook blew out Hofstra on Saturday to keep pace with A&T.

Dorsey secured her second double-double of the season and the second of her career with 21 points and 10 rebounds. She also had three assists and three steals, shooting 8-for-9 from the free throw line and 6-for-14 from the floor. Acox came off the bench to score 12 points and grab six rebounds on 5-for-9 shooting in 13 minutes.

“In the first half, I thought it was going to be a classic A&T-Hampton game,” said A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson. “Coach (David) Six had them prepared by mixing up defenses and applying a lot of pressure. Obviously from our time in the MEAC, he knows a lot of our sets. He knows my habits. We talked to our young women about winners’ habits. We had to keep our habits longer than theirs, and from there, the game would open up. It worked out in our favor.”

A&T held a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Pirates scored the first six points of the second half to take a 15-12 lead. A&T responded with an 8-0 run highlighted by a Maleia Bracone 3-pointer to take a 20-15 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. But Hampton put things back in reverse, outscoring the Aggies 7-1 over two minutes to recapture the advantage.

But Talia Davis gave the Aggies the lead for good by netting a three from the top of the key. Two Bracone free throws and an and- one from Acox completed the Aggies 8-0 spurt as they took a 29-22 lead with 40 seconds to play. Camryn Hill ended the run with a jumper before a Dorsey free throw gave the Aggies a 30-24 lead at the half.

But the Aggies got to the rim and the free throw line in the second half, and sophomore center Chaniya Clark and Acox started causing the Pirates problems. They also outscored the Pirates 15-4 to open the second half. Dorsey had eight of A&T’s 15 points during that stretch as the Aggies took a 45-28 off a Dorsey 3-pointer with five minutes to play in the third.

“Transition is one of our strong suites. If we can get that and get them to take quick shots, we can box out and get the rebound. At that point, let’s push it out,” said Robinson. “When that happened, we started getting to the foul line. We started getting their players in foul trouble and wearing them down. Their bench is just as short as ours. I think that opened the game up.”

The Aggies increased their lead to as many as 20 in the third quarter before entering the fourth leading 56-40. The closest the Pirates got to the Aggies in the fourth quarter was 14 points. Clark had 10 of her 12 points in the second half. She added eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Dorsey had 13 of her 21 in the second half and Bracone netted two threes and finished with 10 points. Hill had 19 points and four steals for the Pirates.

The Aggies have another tough challenge on Sunday at Corbett as they welcome the defending CAA tournament champions, the Monmouth Hawks (15-8, 8-4 CAA). Tip-off is at 2 p.m.

“Monmouth is a really good team and very well coached,” said Robinson. “I think they finished seventh in the conference last year and ended up winning the tournament, so they know what fight is. They’re not going to give up. They will play to the end of the game.”