GREENSBORO – Even if there have been some uneven results in the first portion of the season, the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team might be getting it right at an ideal time.
The Aggies were spot-on in their final non-conference tune-up, overwhelming Division II Mount Olive 100-42 on Tuesday at Corbett Sports Center.
Chaniya Clark racked up the first 20-point game of her career with 20 points. Paris Locke added 14 points. Ajia James provided 12 points and eight rebounds, and Maleia Bracone posted 10 points for the Aggies, who improved to 4-7 on the season.
A&T shot 50.7 percent from the field and finished with a plus-20 rebounding margin.
It was just the type of outing that should provide confidence entering the upcoming phase of the season with the start of Coastal Athletic Association play.
“I wanted to have a final tune-up game coming off the break,” coach Tarrell Robinson said. “I wanted to continue to build confidence in our bench. We wanted to build some continuity in our starting lineup. I think we did, and I think we’re ready for whatever is in front of us as far as CAA play.”
The Aggies trailed in the game as Mount Olive’s Savannah McAfee followed her miss to give the Trojans an 8-6 lead in the first quarter. The Aggies scored the next six points, capped by a James steal and layup before Destiny Thompson netted a three, and Alexis Durham hit a mid-range jumper to give Mount Olive the lead back at 13-12 with 4:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
But the Aggies outscored the Trojans 7-2 to end the quarter as A&T guard Reiven Douglas splashed a three from the corner to send the Aggies into the second ahead 19-15. It took Mount Olive 7 1/2 minutes to score its first points of the second quarter. When Emily Wiebelhause finally scored on a layup for the Trojans, the Aggies led 50-17. The Aggies led 54-19 at the half.
Next for the Aggies comes CAA action, beginning with Friday night’s home game against visiting Elon.
“Now that we’re starting conference play, everyone understands that everyone comes zero and zero, so whatever your record was in the non-conference, it doesn’t matter,” said Robinson, whose team holds its second two-game winning streak of the season. “What your record is going forward gets you closer to a better seeding and closer to winning the championship.”
A&T is the CAA preseason favorite based on votes from coaches in the fall. It will take more than projections for the Aggies to reach their goals. Robinson said rising up to meet the expectations will be challenging.
“We have to continue to improve, and I told them in the locker room, now there are no excuses,” he said. “We were picked to win the CAA. Now we have to show up.”
Clark appears to be gearing up appropriately after taking time to get up to speed. She missed some action early in the season but has been the team’s top scorer in the past two games. Her production Tuesday came in just 15 minutes on the court.
“I think any good coach would notice there’s a size difference,” Robinson said of Clark’s advantage. “But good basketball starts inside-out. If I was sure about anything, it was trying to get the ball inside and play off how they try to stop it.”
The matchup with Elon has notable storylines. Robinson said he knows the Phoenix has built a championship profile with past CAA titles, something the Aggies want to achieve.
“They’ve won championships. They know how to win,” Robinson said. “They prepare as such. I’ve watched them on film. They’ve added a lot of scoring and versatility. They can play big, or they can play small.”
Then there’s James, who played the past three seasons for Elon before choosing to finish her collegiate career with the Aggies. She has shot 7-for-12 from the field in the last two games combined.
The Elon contest will be the only home game during the first half of January as the Aggies go on the road for a three-game stretch after meeting Elon.
“We have to find people willing to play together and have chemistry,” Clark said. “I feel like this lineup is really good for us to build on that chemistry.”
