Orangeburg, S.C.—SC State late second half push was not enough as they fell to North Carolina A&T, 77-71, in a MEAC matchup in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

SC State (8-15, 3-10 MEAC) allowed NC A&T to jump out to a seven point advantage by the 14:42 mark (9-16) but quickly rebounded. The Lady Bulldogs used an 11-3 run to jump ahead of the Lady Aggies by one (20-19) with 11:25 remaining in the first half. The teams exchanged baskets over the next three plus minutes before NC A&T (12-12, 8-5 MEAC) used an 8-4 run to jump ahead by three (24-27) with just over eight minutes remaining in the half. The Lady Aggies would increase its lead to 11 (24-35) with just five minutes remaining. The Lady Bulldogs managed to cut the deficit to six (33-39) heading into the half.

SC State began the second half on a 12-7 run to close the gap with NC A&T to one (45-46) at the 11:38 mark. The Lady Aggies would once again take control of the game, increasing their lead to eight (47-55) at the 8:58 mark. NC A&T would go up by 13 (52-65) at the 6:36 mark before the Lady Bulldogs once again put their offense in motion. Over the next four minutes, SC State pulled within three points (66-69) of the Lady Aggies but could not get any closer. NC A&T defense held the Lady Bulldogs to just five points over the next 2:36 en route to the 77-71 victory.

Sophomores Trinese Fox and Tiana Hemphill led the way for the Lady Bulldogs with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Hemphill led the team in rebounding with eight boards in the loss.

The Lady Aggies were paced by Jaleesa Sams with 19 points. NC A&T had four players in all to record double-digit points as Mikala Scott and Tracy King each scored 16 and Jaquayla Berry dropped in 12 in the contest. Reisha Bullock pulled in a game-high nine rebounds for the Lady Aggies in the victory.

SC State will close out its 2010-11 home season on this Monday, Feb. 21, when they host the Spartans of Norfolk State. The Lady Bulldogs will then hit the road for its final three games of the regular season beginning next Saturday, Feb. 26 against Bethune-Cookman. SC State will then face Florida A&M (Feb. 28) before closing out with in Durham, N.C. against North Carolina Central (March 3).