Dover (Feb. 16, 2009) ? Delaware State rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit en route to a 68-66 win over first-place North Carolina A&T in a nationally-televised (ESPNU) MEAC women's basketball thriller in Memorial Hall Monday evening. NCA&T's Amber Bland missed a desperation three-point shot as time expired to secure the win for the Lady Hornets.
Second-place Delaware State won its third in a row to improve to 14-11 overall and 10-2 in the MEAC. The loss snapped a 12-game win streak for the Aggies, who suffered their first conference defeat of the season. North Carolina A&T is now 18-6 overall and 11-1 in the MEAC.
The Lady Hornets also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Aggies.
Senior guard Jameka Smith, playing in her final home game, scored a career-high 19 points to lead Delaware State. Freshman Sonia Johnson tallied 14 points, while Selena Galloway came off the bench to add 13 for the Lady Hornets.
Bland led four North Carolina A&T players in double-figures with 20 points. Her performance included four three-point field goals. Brittanie Taylor-James had 15 points, while Ta'Wuana Cook (11) and Jaleesa Sams (10) also reached double-figures for the Aggies.
“It's always great to send your seniors out with a win in their final home game, but this was even better because we fought so hard to come back against an outstanding team,” said Delaware State head coach Ed Davis, who improved to 106-47 in MEAC regular season games. “Things were looking pretty tough for us early in the second half, but I'm proud of the way we continued to fight. Jameka's energy on both ends of the floor was a key to the come back, and Selena gave us a big lift off the bench. Hopefully, we can sustain this momentum as we hit the road for our last four games.”
North Carolina A&T was in control for much of the first half, and led 33-27 intermission.
The Aggies opened the second half with a 12-2 run, and pulled ahead 45-29 on a steal and lay up by Sams with 15:36 left to play. The Lady Hornets were 0-for-7 from the field and committed two turnovers during the NCA&T run.
Delaware State answered with a 12-3 run, and pulled to within 48-41 on a Smith three-point play with 10:38 remaining in the game.
The Lady Hornets cut further into the deficit with a 7-1 run later in the half. The rally included a three-point shot by Johnson as the shot clock expired to cut the Aggies' lead to 53-50 with 7:36 left.
North Carolina A&T answered with five straight points, and opened up a 58-50 lead on a three-pointer by Bland with 6:38 left to play.
Galloway triggered the next rally that gave Delaware State its first lead since scoring the first point of the game. The junior guard scored four straight DSU points, including a jumper that put the Lady Hornets ahead 61-60 with 2:22 remaining in the game.
North Carolina A&T regained the lead, 63-61, when Bland knocked down her third three-pointer of the game on the Aggies' next possession.
Galloway tied the game with a lay up on Delaware State's next trip up the floor, then put the Lady Hornets ahead, 65-63, on two free throws with 1:35 left. DSU opened up a 67-63 lead on two free throws by Smith with 21 ticks remaining.
Bland answered with her fourth three-pointer to cut Delaware State's lead to 67-66 with eight seconds on the clock.
Galloway hit one-of-two free throws with seven seconds left to give the Lady Hornets a 68-66 lead.
On North Carolina A&T's final possession, the Lady Hornets knocked the ball out-of-bounds with 1.1 seconds left. The ensuing in-bounds pass went to Bland, whose off-balanced three-point shot fell shot of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
Delaware State outscored North Carolina A&T 41-33 in the second half.
The Lady Hornets were 23-for-69 from the field (33.3%), including 4-of-11 from three-point territory. DSU was 18-for-23 at the free throw line (78.3%).
North Carolina A&T was 22-for-48 from the floor (45.8%), including 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. The Aggies were 17-for-24 at the stripe.
The Lady Hornets held a 39-37 rebound advantage. DSU tied its season-low of 12 turnovers, while forcing the Aggies into 23 miscues.
The teams split their two meetings this season. North Carolina A&T rallied from a 15-point seconds-half deficit defeat DSU 56-51 on Jan. 19 in Greensboro, N.C.
Delaware State wraps up its regular season schedule with four road games, beginning with a visit to Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla., this Saturday.
