Late 3-pointer cost Aggies a loss to UMES
Courtesy NC A&T Sports Information / January 13, 2017
Two UMES defenders pressure NCA&TSU’s Alexus Lessears. Photo by Joe Daniels/Carolina Peacemaker
Maryland Eastern Shore put together a 3-point shooting display late against the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team to leave Corbett Sports Center Monday afternoon with a 60-57 win. The Aggies (5-11, 1-2 MEAC) split their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference home stand after beating Delaware State on Saturday. But they nearly took both games after overcoming a double-digit second-half deficit.
Fifth-year guard Dana Brown led the Aggies with 13 points. Junior Michelle Fitzgerald added nine points and eight rebounds. Winston-Salem native Ciana Byrom had nine points for MDES but left the game early with an injury. Alexus Hicks came off the bench to score 15 points and Mariah McCoy finished with 11.
Byrom, the Hawks leading scorer, left the game with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter with the Hawks (7-5, 1-0 MEAC) leading 35-29. The Hawks increased that lead to 41-30 even with Byrom down. But the Aggies got the lead down to three, 43-40, by the end of the quarter. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Aggies captured the lead as Brown hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 49-48 lead.
The Aggies increased that lead to 54-50 with 3:58 left on an Aliyah Kilpatrick jumper, her only field goal of the game. In a quick turn of events, back-to-back 3-pointers by Alexus Hicks and Mariah McCoy put the Hawks back on top 56-54. With the crowd roaring, junior Quenswayla Story picked up her ninth point of the game on a layup to tie the game at 56, but another 3-pointer by Hicks gave the Hawks a 59-57 lead with 1:35 to play. The Hawks clinched the game when McCoy stole the ball from Fitzgerald with 35 seconds remaining.
