Bland finishes with 21 and ends the regular-season with a scoring average of better than 20

Box Score
DOVER, Del., February 28, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team had a chance to clinch a No. 2 seed in next week’s MEAC Tournament from Raleigh with a win over Delaware State on Wednesday.

The Aggies saw those chances slip away with a 73-70 loss to Delaware State, one of the hottest teams in the MEAC. As a result, the Aggies will have to wait a few days to see exactly where they will be seeded.

The Hornets, who were led by Katreem Palmer’s 20 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range, won for the 11^th time in 13 games. Amber Bland led the Aggies with 21 points with Brittanie Taylor-James adding 19 points and eight rebounds.

The Aggies are guaranteed a bye in the tournament, their first since the MEAC added Hampton during the 1996-97 season. The question lies with where they will be seeded.

Three teams have a chance to finish 12-6 on the season – Delaware State, Morgan State and N.C. A&T. The Aggies and the Hornets are already 12-6 on the season. Morgan State, who defeated Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday night, is 11-6 in the conference with regular-season champion and winner of 37 straight conference games Coppin State ready to host the Bears on Saturday.

If the Bears were to upset Coppin State, it would create a 3-way tie for second, which means best overall record would determine the tiebreaker. In that scenario, the Bears’ 17-11 record would win out and the Aggies would drop to the fourth seed. If the Bears lose, the Bears would be the No. 4 seed and the Aggies would be seeded third.  

The Aggies were hoping to make all scenarios obsolete by winning on Wednesday. But a 9-0 run turned a one-point second half deficit with 4:33 remaining into a 10-point deficit (69-59) with 2:19 remaining.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Bland, who had five threes on the night, cut the Hornets lead to four quickly. Ashley Burbage put the Hornets up six with a layup at the 1:16 mark of the second half. The Aggies turned the ball over on their next possession, but were benefited by a missed free throw by DSU.

 Taylor-James kept the Aggies hopes alive with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to pull the Aggies to within three, 71-68 with 12 seconds remaining. But two Burbage free throws would clinch the game for the Hornets.

The Aggies finish the regular-season 17-11 overall and 12-6 in the MEAC. The Aggies will have their first winning season in 11 years and their best win total in 11 years. The Aggies also had their highest finish in the conference in 12 years.