NORFOLK, Va. — Junior forward Paulina Afriyie notched a double-double and ninth-seeded North Carolina Central University made nearly all of its free throw attempts in picking up the first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's Basketball Championship Tournament win in program history with a convincing 80-64 first-round triumph over eighth-seeded Delaware State University Tuesday afternoon at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
The Eagles shot 49-percent from the field and converted on 26 of their 27 free throw tries for a staggering 96.3-percent precision. NC Central (9-21 overall) won its MEAC Tournament opener for the first time in eight tries since joining the conference in 2011-12.
 
NCCU advances to the quarterfinals and will next play top-seeded North Carolina A&T State University on Wednesday at Noon. Delaware State ended its season at 7-21.
 
Afriyie tallied her 10th double-double of the season with team-high totals of 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Third Team All-MEAC honoree was a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line while adding three steals and two assists.
 
The Eagles received balanced scoring as five players reached double digits in the scoring column. Senior Caira Benton scored in double figures for a third straight contest with 17 points; sophomore Kieche White sank 14 points to lead NCCU's reserves; senior Rodneysha Martin swished two of NCCU's four made 3-pointers on the way to 11 points; and sophomore Zaria Atkins chipped in 10 points to go along with her game-high five assists.
 
The Eagles flew out to a quick 8-2 advantage in the first three minutes. Afriyie finished off the opening surge with a jumper in the paint at the 7:19 mark. NCCU was held without a field goal for the next seven minutes and the Hornets went on an ensuing 12-2 run before White ended the drought for the Eagles with a deep 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer to pull NCCU within one, 14-13, after the first quarter.
 
The maroon and gray heated up from that point as the Eagles flew ahead to a 36-29 advantage at halftime. NCCU made half of its shots (6-12) in the second quarter and converted on 11 of its 12 free throw attempts to outscore the Hornets 23-15 in the period.
 
Two consecutive jumpers by junior Genell Addison gave Delaware State its last lead of 23-17 before NCCU went on a 13-1 run. The rally featured bookend baskets by Benton to put the Eagles up 30-26. NCCU never relinquished the lead from that point.
 
Afriyie went into the locker room at the midway point having already accumulated 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. White had 10 of her 14 points by that point.
 
The first 10 points of the second half were scored by NCCU on a hoop from Afriyie, two free throws by Benton, a 3-pointer by Martin and then a 3-point play by Benton. NCCU maintained a double-digit cushion from that point and for nearly the entirety of the second half (final 18:51).
 
Benton finished with a season-high eight rebounds to complement Afriyie's 10 boards.
 
Senior NaJai Pollard – the 2018-19 MEAC Player of the Year – paced the Hornets with 27 points and eight rebounds.