NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 2 Howard University women's basketball team dropped a 68-58 decision to No. 7 North Carolina A&T on Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2017 MEAC Tournament in Scope Arena.
The Bison finished the season 16-13 overall, while the Lady Aggies moved up to 14-17.
Redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip was the only player in double figures for Howard with a game-high 25 points. She also chipped in four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Senior Jasmine Hill added nine points, four assists and two steals.
Junior Tajzhane Dopson and freshman Star Fitzgerald-Greer notched five points and four assists each, while redshirt junior Erin Blaine grabbed a team-best eight boards.
The game was decided at the charity stripe as N.C. A&T attempted 34 free throws, making 24 shots for a 70.6 percent clip. Although Howard was 63.6 percent at the line, the Bison only had 11 total attempts.
HU outscored the Lady Aggies in the paint by a 32-24 margin and had 16 points from the bench.
Howard had a 10-9 edge midway through the first quarter as both teams came out full of energy. With 2:59 on the clock, a pair of free throws by the Lady Aggies tied the score at 12. Dopson went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe before adding a layup for a 15-12 lead. Both teams had a tough time scoring in the latter half of the quarter as neither squad made a field goal for 4:12. The Bison had a 15-13 advantage at the end of the first.
Dopson opened the second period with a floater and Hill got a layup on a fast break to force a N.C. A&T timeout. The Lady Aggies went on a 7:30 drought without a field goal but they only trailed by four, 19-15. Foul trouble for the Bison helped put N.C. A&T at the line, which the Lady Aggies used to tie the game at 28 with 1:57 before the break. N.C. A&T closed the quarter on a 10-3 to put the Bison down 33-31 at the half.
A jumper by Heslip knotted the score at 33 to start the third quarter. A couple of three-pointers extended N.C. A&T's lead to 41-35 at the 5:49 mark. Heslip spun around three defenders for a basket before following it up by weaving through two Lady Aggies to score again and cut the deficit to one, 43-42. Fitzgerald-Greer was clutch on a three-pointer that tied the contest at 45 but a triple at the buzzer ended the quarter with N.C. A&T back up, 48-45.
Hill nailed the and-one and Heslip hit a jumper to give Howard a 50-48 lead early in the fourth period. Another three-pointer by the Lady Aggies locked the score up at 52 with 5:43 remaining. Rookie Danielle Griffin made one of her attempts at the free throw line for a slight 53-52 edge at the final media timeout but N.C. A&T went up by six, 61-55 with 2:47 on the clock. Hill delivered another three-point play but it wasn't enough as the Bison fell, 68-58.
Aliyah Kilpatrick finished with 15 points to pace N.C. A&T, followed by Dana Brown and Kala Green with 14 points apiece.
