DURHAM, N.C. — Sophomore forward Anissa Rivera was one rebound shy of a double-double and senior guard Necole Hope scored 13 points for the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team in an 87-57 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) home loss to North Carolina A&T State University Saturday afternoon inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
Rivera led the Eagles with 18 points and nine rebounds. She has scored in double digits in all eight games this season while Hope's 13 points was her fourth double-figure performance.
 
Freshman forward Morgan Callahan topped NCCU's reserves with a season-high eight points. Junior forward Kiyana Brown contributed six points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Freshman Paris McBride dished out seven assists despite foul trouble and junior Cherelle Washington chipped in seven points.
 
The Eagles scored the first nine points of the showdown and Hope's second made 3-pointer spotted NCCU with its largest lead of 12-2 just over three minutes into play. However, the Eagles only made one more field goal in the quarter – a trey by Rivera – which allowed the Aggies to close the period on a 16-3 run and take a one-point edge, 18-17, after 10 minutes.
 
NCCU never regained the lead and just leveled the score on one occasion in the second quarter. Freshman Sean Kelly Darks scored 12 of her 17 points in the stanza to help push the visitors lead to 37-29 at halftime that N.C. A&T would never relinquish.
 
The Aggies then took over by scoring 36 points in the third quarter. N.C. A&T made seven 3-pointers in the period on just eight attempts for a scorching 87.5-percent from long range to outscore NCCU by 23 points over that timetable.
 
The Eagles trailed 73-42 going into the fourth quarter, but were unable to make a dent in the deficit despite outscoring the Aggies in the last period.
 
The win for N.C. A&T ended a three-game program losing streak to NCCU.
 
Senior Deja Winters was the catalyst for the Aggies, swishing a half dozen trifectas on her way to a game-high 26 points. Senior transfer Chanin Scott, who played her first three seasons at Georgia Tech, supplied 13 points for the victors.
 
N.C. A&T finished the game shooting 46.5-percent from the field, including 44.0-percent from behind the arc. The Eagles were held to 37.7-percent and they committed 20 turnovers compared to just eight mistakes by the Aggies.
 
NC Central (3-5 Overall, 1-2 MEAC)) and N.C. A&T (8-1, 5-0) will play each other for a second straight day when the two in-state rivals tipoff on Sunday at 2 p.m.