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CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – It took a complete team effort for the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team to defeat Tennessee Tech 54-49 Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the Chattanooga Christmas Classic at McKenzie Arena.
The Aggies (7-4 overall) used 11 players, including nine who scored, to shoot a season-best 49 percent (24 of 49) from the field. Redshirt junior Eboni Rossmade it hard for the Golden Eagles (2-9) offensively as she recorded a career-high eight blocks, a team-leading eight rebounds and eight points.
“Before the game we talked about being positive, and we focused on having good vibes so that we could get over the back-to-back losing hump,” head coach Robinson explained about the Aggies who lost two straight before facing Tennessee Tech. “It was a great defensive effort. Everyone who played contributed. I’m excited about the win.”
Redshirt junior Adriana Nazario finished with nine points ahead of redshirt juniors Aprill McRae and Christina Carter who recorded eight points each.
After taking a 27-22 lead at the half, the Aggies opened the second half on a 7-2 run to push the score to 34-24 with 16:44 left. Tennessee Tech answered and scored seven consecutive points capped off with a 3-pointer from Hannah Goolsby to trail A&T 38-35. The Aggies slowly pulled away and held a solid 50-41 lead after Ross hit a short jumper with 6:02 remaining. But Goolsby nailed another three as the Golden Eagles orchestrated an 8-2 rally to cut A&T’s lead to 52-49 at the 3:35 mark.
Tech had several opportunities to score but it missed six shots over a three-minute span. A fast-break layup by McRae from redshirt sophomore Dana Brown made it a two possession game as A&T clung to its 54-49 lead with 10 seconds remaining in the game.
A&T held a 12-10 edge with 10:44 remaining in the first half but used an 11-4 rally to stretch its lead to 23-14 at the 4:06 mark. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to five after scoring four straight points to trail the Aggies 27-22 at the half. During the first half Tech held a 21-12 advantage on the glass over the Aggies.
“We didn’t do a good job boxing out,” Robinson said. “Tech played hard to crash the boards. We’ve got to get better in that aspect.”
Candace Parsons led all scorers with 11 points on 5-for-10 (50 percent) shooting. Samaria Howard finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Catherine Taylor also added 10 points.
A&T will face host Chattanooga on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m., in its final game of the tournament.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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