WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Whitney Wiley connected on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left to lift eighth-seeded South Carolina State to a dramatic 61-60 victory over top-seeded North Carolina A&T Wednesday in quarterfinal action of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum.
It was the second straight game that Wiley had provided the heroics for Coach Doug Robertson's team, which earned a trip to Friday's semifinals against the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup between Howard and Florida A&M. Tip off is 12 noon.
In opening round action Tuesday, Wiley's 3-pointer with 19.9 seconds left, sealed the Lady Bulldog's 54-49 win over Coppin and sent SC State into Wednesday's matchup with the top-seeded Lady Aggies, who became the first number one seed to be knocked out in an opening-round game in the women's tournament.
Wednesday, the 5-10 junior of Columbia got the ball at the left elbow following an SC State timeout with 8.3 seconds left. She drove right and launched the shot which found the bottom of the nets, setting off a wild celebration by the SC State bench and the few scattered Bulldog supporters present. The clock showed 0.7 seconds left, but after a review by the officiating crew, the clock was set to 1.9 seconds. The Lady Aggies inbounded the ball to Tawana Cook, however, the senior was not able to get off a shot before time expired, leading to yet another celebration by Wiley and her teammates.
“That's the fifth time I've been in position to win a game for us,” Wiley said at the postgame news conference. “I'm glad the shot went in and it's great to get the winner against the number one team.”
SC State, which trailed 29-21 at the half, used a 24-3 second-half run to build a seven-point 45-38 lead on a layup by Trinese Fox with 9:13 to play. NC A&T, which had swept the 2009-10 series against the Lady Bulldogs, battled back to tie at 47-all on a three-point play by Lamona Smalley with 5:36 left.
Lady Bulldog freshman Paris Alston, a Greensboro native who had 16 points to lead SC State, got two free throws as Robertson's team regained the lead at 49-47 with 5:09 showing. NC A&T freshman Amber Calvin, who had 14 points to lead the Lady Aggies, answered tying the contest at 49-all at the 4:46 mark. She then scored on a drive for a 51-49 lead for the top seed with 4:08 showing.
Wiley's 3-pointer at the 3:40 mark put the Lady Bulldogs back ahead 52-51 and there were four more lead changes before NC A&T built a 59-56 advantage on a drive by Smalley with 49.2 ticks on the clock. Alston pulled SC State to within one at 59-58 with a follow shot with 37.8 seconds left, before Tyronnica Alford got one of two free throws for a 60-58 Lady Aggie lead with 13.8 seconds left.
SC State, after a miss and a mad scramble for a loose ball which went out of bounds, was awarded to the Lady Bulldogs under their own basket. Robertson took a timeout with 8.3 seconds to play, setting up the finish and Wiley's winning shot.
An emotional Robertson said that during the timeout, he and his staff opted to go for the 3-pointer and the win.
“Hipps (the lone State senior) was out of the game and we didn't think we could keep up with them in overtime,” Robertson said, “so we decided to go for the win. It didn't happen the way we drew up the play by Wiley knocked down a big shot.
“I'm so happy for our players, he continued. “No matter what happened in the game and no matter how bad our won-loss record, these kids have given me a great opportunity to coach and I'm just happy to be around them.”
Alston was followed in the scoring column for the Lady Bulldogs by Wiley and Sophilia Hipps, who had 11 points each and Joy Walker with nine. Tiara Knotts contributed seven and a team-high nine rebounds in the victory, which lifted SC State to 13-18 on the season.
NC A&T, which is guaranteed an NIT bid by virtue of its regular-season title, dropped to 21-10 on the season.
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