Five Aggies score in double figures

Box Score
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 5, 2007 – North Carolina A&T’s women’s basketball team did an outstanding job of rallying from a 12-point second-half deficit on Monday, but they couldn’t overcome their mistakes in a 68-65 loss to Howard at Burr Gymnasium.

 The loss was the Aggies second straight and it dropped them to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in the MEAC. Thirty-six turnovers by N.C. A&T was the major reason Howard was able to earn the win.

 “Some of the turnovers we committed tonight were not even forced,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “We’re talking about winning a championship, but we’re not playing like a team that wants to win a championship. I’m glad the young ladies put themselves back in a position to win the ball game, but when you make that many mistakes it’s hard to win.

 “We’ll go back and try to correct those mistakes because we have some big games coming up at home.”

 Brittanie Taylor-James led five Aggies in double figures with 16 points, while Ta’Wuana Cook and Amber Bland had 13 points apiece. Howard guard Shannon Carlisle led the Bison with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists on 9-for-22 shooting from the field.

 But Carlisle went to the bench at the 14:12 mark with her fourth foul. At that point the Bison held a 42-32 lead. The lead grew to 47-34 a minute later. The Aggies, who were short-handed on Monday, went away from their zone and started pressuring the Bison.

 It reaped immediate benefits. In a span of four minutes, the Aggies collected six steals and went on a 14-0 run to take a 48-47 lead with 9:48 to play. The Aggies would keep the pressure going. Four more steals occurred over the next minute-and-half resulting in the Aggies taking their biggest lead of the game, 55-49, on a Cook fastbreak layup.

 Howard, however, returned the favor. The Bison recorded four steals over the next two minutes to go on a 9-0 run as it took a 58-55 lead with 5:31 remaining. The Bison’s lead grew to 61-56 with four minutes to play, but Taylor-James hit a driving layup to cut the lead to three. After a Howard turnover, one of 30 on the night, Cook almost took a three but decided instead to swing the ball over to Ahmad Williams for a wide open three that tied the game at 61 with 1:41 to play.

 Carlisle, who re-entered the game at the 5:34 mark, hit two free throws to give Howard a two-point advantage. Bland would hit two free throws to tie the game at 65. After a Howard timeout, the Bison ran an isolation play for Carlisle who drove in the lane and hit a tough jumper with hands in her face for a 67-65 lead. The Aggies had a chance to tie, but Shantar Waddell was called for an offensive foul.

 “We shouldn’t have let it come down to that,’’ said Bibbs. “Things are really tight in our conference. The young ladies have to bring it every night or any one in the conference can beat you.”

 The Aggies have a crucial four-game homestand coming up, starting with Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. Then the No. 2 team in the conference comes to Corbett in Florida A&M. No. 1 MEAC team Coppin State and Morgan State conclude the homestand.