North Carolina Central Women’s Basketball Downed By NC A&T

GREENSBORO, N.C. –  The North Carolina Central University Eagles women’s basketball team lost to rivals North Carolina A&T State University 78-56 on Sunday afternoon at the Corbett Sports Center. Sophomore guard Nyasia Palmer posted career-high totals of 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists for NCCU.

Classmate Anissa Rivera continued her outstanding play for the Eagles with her seventh double-double. Rivera swished a team-high 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for a second straight day.

The Aggies, who rank second nationally in forced turnovers, once again got NCCU to make a lot of mistakes. The Eagles committed 29 turnovers that led to 28 extra points for the hosts.

Senior Deja Winters scored a game-high 20 points for N.C. A&T (12-2, 9-1 MEAC). Senior Chanin Scott added a double-double for the victors with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Scott also had eight assists and six steals.

The Aggies started the scoring with a made 3-pointer 70 seconds into play and led wire-to-wire.

A trey by freshman Promise Cunningham had the Eagles within three points, 18-15, with 2:23 left in the first quarter, but N.C. A&T scored the next six points to maintain its lead. The Aggies ended up leading by double digits for the final 27 minutes, including leads of 40-24 at halftime and 46-42 after three quarters.

Senior Necole Hope was the third NCCU player to reach double-digit points, finishing with 10 points. Freshman Morgan Callahan netted nine points and junior Kiyana Brown chipped in four points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

NC Central (3-10, 1-5 MEAC) will next host its final two home games of the season when the Eagles entertain MEAC foe Norfolk State University on Wednesday-Thursday, March 3-4. Both games inside McDougald-McLendon Arena are scheduled to start at 4 p.m., with Thursday’s contest serving as Senior Day.