Photo credit: Sydne Vigille
The FAMU women’s basketball team went up against one of the top teams in the conference on Saturday — North Carolina A&T.
Despite enjoying home-court advantage, it did not go well for the Rattlers
(6-21, 4-10 MEAC) at the Lawson Center. The NCA&T Aggies (18-8, 13-1) rolled to a 73-52 win.
The two teams played great basketball in the first quarter and by the end of the quarter the Rattlers were only trailing the Aggies 18-16.
Then things began to fall apart in the second quarter.
The Rattlers were out-scoured 24-6 in the second quarter with two of the six points that they had coming from free throws.
“We’re in shape to outlast people but that drop-off killed us and playing catch up to the number one team in the conference is hard to do,” Coach Ledawn Gibson said. “We took some bad shots plus our shots just weren’t falling.”
The turnovers and the lack of defense by the Rattlers added to the deficit in the second quarter by giving the Aggies more opportunities to score. After the second quarter, the Rattlers adjusted by getting more rebounds and creating more opportunities for themselves. Senior guard Shakeyrra
Robinson lead the team in rebounding with 12 boards.
“The rotation is shorter and we had to slow and tailor our guards down for the post, so we said that we need everyone to rebound because that’s the key to winning. Rebounding and defense,” Gibson Said.
The rebounding by the Rattlers in the second half helped keep the team in the game but the turnovers and lack of defense prevented them from catching back up to the Aggies in the end.
Photo credit: Sydne Vigille
Cinia McCray of the Aggies finished with 18 points and her teammate CCoriea Foy finished with 13. Florence Ouattara scored 13 points and was the only Rattler who finished in double figures.
“We lost the game but I was pleased with the second half effort, but we just have to be more consistent as a team throughout the entire game,” Gibson said. “I still believe in this team, I still think that we have the talent to do what we need to do. It’s just putting these last few pieces together and unfortunately it’s taking a long time.”
Senior guard Ecenur Yurdakul was disappointed with the results but she still has hope for her team.
“I believe that we’re going to be OK going into the tournament and I just believe that our team will be all right,” Yurdakul said.
The next game will be on Monday at 6 pm against South Carolina State at the Lawson Center.