DeLand, Fla. ? Visiting North Carolina A&T erased a 13-point halftime deficit with 22 consecutive points to start the second half and went on to defeat the Stetson women's basketball team 78-60 at the Edmunds Center tonight in the season opener for both squads. Hatter freshman point guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla./First Academy) scored a team-high 20 points in her first official collegiate action.
Stetson (0-1) played a strong first half of basketball, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor as a team (15-27) and holding the Lady Aggies (1-0) to nine made field goals in 26 attempts. The Hatters began the game on a 14-3 run in the first six minutes and would lead in the first half by as much as 18 points, going up 33-15 with 4:03 to play on a basket by sophomore forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.).
When Stetson took a 39-26 lead into the locker room at halftime, all appeared well for the home team, but North Carolina A&T roared out of the intermission with a furious onslaught of points, erasing the entire lead in just 3:04 and taking the lead for good on a pair of Brittany Taylor-James free throws. The Lady Aggies were ahead 50-39 before the Hatters finally got on the scoreboard in the second half. Junior guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) sank a three-pointer with 13:24 remaining to make it 50-42.
The Hatters were able to cut the lead down to six points at 61-55 with 7:36 remaining on a Brown layup, but another streak by the visitors, this one a 10-2 run over the next 4:17, put the game out of reach. North Carolina A&T went on to win by 18.
Brown announced her arrival with 20 points, the most by a Hatter in a season opener since Kim Manning scored 22 at Bethune-Cookman Nov. 19, 2004. She shot 50% from the floor (7-14), sank four three-pointers and added four rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal. Smith finished with 11 points and five rebounds on 5-9 shooting while freshman forward Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa HS) also had a strong Hatter debut, notching eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds with two steals and a block.
Taylor-James led the visitors with 20 points while Amber Bland had 15 points and five rebounds. Ta'Wuana Cook was also in double figures for the Lady Aggies, finishing with 13 points. Lamona Smalley tallied eight points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Just as Stetson shot 55.6% from the field in the first half, North Carolina A&T reached the same figure in the second half, sinking five of its first six field goal attempts after halftime.
The Hatters host Georgia Southern Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Edmunds Center. GSU was beaten 72-58 tonight on the road by preseason Atlantic Sun favorite Jacksonville.
