DURHAM -- Joli Robinson said she had never seen anything like it during her tenure as N.C. Central's women's basketball coach. 

And when it was over, just about everyone who saw it was in a little bit of shock. 

The Eagles shrugged off an 18-point deficit with just over 11 minutes to play Tuesday, coming back to shock CIAA-leader Elizabeth City State 75-72 at McLendon-McDougald Gym. 

LaQuanda Williams, who has played in just one losing effort since joining the team at the semester break, led the way with 23 points as three Eagles finished in double figures. It was Williams' fourth straight game with at least 20 points. 

Freshman Jasmine Newkirk added 13 points while classmate Jori Nwachukwu chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Cassie King added eight points, leaving the Eagles' career scoring leader 13 short of 2,000 career points. 

The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region poll, improved to 18-5 overall and 13-3 in CIAA action with their 11th straight victory. 

"I don't remember a bigger comeback right now," Robinson said. "And we definitely needed it. 

"We did a thing at practice yesterday where every player said something positive about the team, and maybe that had some effect. This is a really close group, both on and off the court." 

ECSU, ranked No. 2 in the region, fell to 17-6 and 14-2 after having its seven-game winning streak snapped. Deanna Price led the Vikings with 15 points and 10 assists, while Ashley Bowman added 13. Celeste Trahan had 12 points in 28 minutes. 

ECSU had won the teams' earlier meeting 81-68 on Dec. 5 at the Vaughan Center, and looked to be well on the way to another win before the Eagles' big finish. 

"We wanted to make sure the best team won this time, and we knew it was North Carolina Central," Nwachukwu said. "It was tough, but we stayed together. We knew we were capable of coming back to win." 

NCCU made its closest approach since the early going with 17:33 left on a Cassie King jumper that made it 46-37. 

The visitors stretched the lead back to 18 points with 11:03 left as Hudgins' layup made it 61-43. 

Then came the run, which began with a Jennifer Hukill 3-pointer at 10:02. 

NCCU scored 20 of the next 21 points to take its first lead of the game as Williams' layup from Newkirk made it 63-62 with 5:59 to go. Joyce Freeman hit a free throw at 5:51 to tie the score, and Hukill's 3-pointer at 5:36 gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game to that point. 

"I felt pretty good when I hit the first one," Hukill said. "Coach told us to just go out and do what we do best, and I love to shoot." 

Bowman's layup with 3:12 remaining made it 69-69, but a Williams layup from Hukill put the Eagles ahead to stay at the 2:38 mark. 

"I've never been around a comeback like that, especially at Central," Williams said. "We're usually winning by 20 points. That first shot Jennifer made really got us going and helped us believe we could win. And we kept our heads high the whole time."