WILLIAMSBURG — In a back-and-forth CAA slugfest, William & Mary suffered its first league loss of the season in narrow fashion, 53-51, to N.C. A&T on Friday night at Kaplan Arena.
The game featured 11 ties and 18 lead changes and neither team led by more than five points the entire contest.
In the end, the Aggies (7-6, 2-1 CAA) used an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
Neither team led by more than four in the opening quarter with the visitor leading holding the advantage twice early at 4-0 and 9-5.
W&M (6-8, 2-1 CAA) responded the ladder advantage with a 9-2 to open up a 14-11 lead. Kayla Beckwith put back her own miss with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter to push the margin to three.
After the Aggies scored five in a row behind a Clark 3-point play and a pair of Locke free throws to move back in front, a Nylah Young jumper with 31 second left tied the game at 16 after the first 10 minutes.
Sparked by Anahi-Lee Cauley, W&M scored the opening four points of the second quarter to force an A&T timeout. Cauley went coast-to-coast in transition, before her steal led to a run-out lay-up for Bella Nascimento at the 8:43 mark.
NC A&T answered with four in a row, and the lead was just a single possession either way for the remainder of the first half. The Aggies used a four-point spurt to take a 30-27 lead, but led by just one at the break.
Like it did in the second, the Tribe scored the opening four points of the third quarter, taking a 33-30 lead on a Kayla Rolph lay-up just over a minute into the frame.
NC A&T scored six in a row over a near four-minute stretch to retake the lead. An Acox jumper put the visitor in front 38-35 with 3:09 left.
W&M scored the final four points of the third quarter and retook the lead on a pair of Kayla Beckwith free throws with 2:23 remaining in the period.
Spanning the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, the Tribe defense held the Aggies without a field goal for nearly eight minutes.
After a pair of A&T free throws in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, the Tribe scored five in a row.
Cassidy Geddes knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game, before Rebekah Frisby-Smith dished to Alexa Mikeska for an easy lay-up to give W&M its largest lead at 44-40 with 8:33 left.
The game reverted to a defensive battle over the last eight minutes, with both sides hitting just two field goals for the remainder of the game.
The difference was at the line, where A&T went 11-of-12 in the final frame to W&M’s 2-for-2, as the Aggies escaped with a two-point win.
Nascimento was the only Tribe player in double figures with 14. Alexa Mikeska stuffed the stat sheet with six points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Both teams shot just 28% from the field.
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action when it travels to Elon on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FloHoops.
