SAVANNAH, Ga.-Junior guard JaQuayla Berry made the most of
her homecoming on Monday night at Tiger Arena.
In front of several family members and friends, the Douglas, Ga. native
collected her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 13
rebounds with three steals--surpassing the 1,000-career point mark-en route to
helping the Aggies defeat the Tigers 88-74.
She is the 12th player in North Carolina A&T
women's basketball program history to hit that milestone, and the seventh under
current A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs.
"It feels great," Berry said about her achievement. "It's a great feeling and it's been a long
time coming. It's been a lot of hard
work, and I've had a lot of support to get here."
"Pretty much anybody I came across gave me support," she
continued. "Family, friends, fans,
alumni, coaches, players, former players-they helped me stay focused and to
work hard and to get me where I am today."
She collected her 1,000th point at the free throw
line, hitting the first shot at the 18:18 mark in the second half of the game
on Monday to make history.
To reach 1,000 points especially in front of family and
friends was important.
"It was good to be able to do it here and for them to be
able to enjoy the moment with me," said Berry, who left Tiger Arena to
celebrate with her mother after the team's 88-74 victory.
Berry struggled in the first half, going 0-for-5 from the
floor and collecting her four points from the line. But she found success in the second half,
collecting 13 points and seven boards.
"It was motivational," she said of her first half
performance. "I knew I just had to go
out there and do what I had to do to get the win."
And Berry's performance helped lead the Aggies to victory.
"I was looking down at JaQuayla, and it was a historic night
for her. But then she was on the
bench. I said, 'JaQuayla, Look at
Amber. You've got to go out there and
get it started. You are a player, you go get it done.' She went out and she did it," said head coach
Patricia Cage-BIbbs, who won her 500th game on Monday, aided by
Berry's performance.
For Berry, it was tremendous to reach 1,000 points on a
night when Bibbs won her 500th game and Amber Calvin passed the 100
assists in a season mark.
"It was great to be able to share the moment with someone
else and to be a part of their milestone too," Berry said.
The talented junior is making another strong case for being
named an All-MEAC player for the second consecutive season. She has had quite a season and career thus
far. In 2010-11, Berry led the team in
scoring with 377 points, and ranked fourth in the MEAC with 14.5 ppg. She also ranked third in the nation with 3.4
steals per game in 2010-11.
This season, Berry leads the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding
(6.8 rbg). She hit double-digits in
seven straight games from Nov. 12-Dec. 12, and in a season-best 11 straight
games from Dec. 21-Feb. 6.
On Dec. 3 at N.C. Central, she had a season-best 28 points with
14 rebounds. She earned "Best individual
off-the-radar weekend performance" honors from Graham Hays of ESPN.com for the
Dec. 3 game. Against N.C. Central on
Feb. 18, she tallied 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for her sixth
double-double of the season. She posted 18 points and eight rebounds on Feb. 25
at S.C. State.
"I'm ready to put in the work to get a championship," Berry
said.
