Amber Bland leads Aggies with 18 points

 Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C., November 20, 2006 – The North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team  showed a lot of determination in trying to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit. But Wofford held off the Aggies’ rally to earn a 66-60 win at Corbett Sports Center on Monday night.

 Amber Bland led the Aggies with 18 points and three assists, while Tu’Wuana Cook added 17 and Ahmad Williams 13. Lonise Coulter grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. Kelsi Koenig led Wofford with 27 points.

 The Aggies trailed 31-18 at the half, but Bland scored 10 points in a 19-9 run to bring the Aggies to within three, 40-37, with 13:31 remaining.  Koenig countered with a pair of lay-ups, while Susanna Paul hit a pair of free throws to push the Terrier edge to 48-39 with 10 minutes left.

 Cook hit a 3-pointer and converted a steal into a layup to cut the deficit to 48-44. Koenig answered with a lay-up and two free throws to give Wofford a 52-44 lead with under nine minutes remaining.

 N.C. A&T (1-3) could get no closer than four points down the stretch as the Terriers hit 10-of-12 free throws the remainder of the contest. Wofford (4-1) hit 27-of-34 attempts from the charity stripe, including 19-of-22 in the second half.

 The Aggies used the 3-pointer to get back within striking distance, as they connected on 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Aggies, however, shot just 10 free throws.

 “We fought back as much as we could,” said coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “I think if we had given the same amount of effort in the first half as we did in the second half, we would have been okay. We didn’t attack their zone and settled on jump shots. But once we started attacking them, we got back in the game and had a chance to win. We’ve got to use games like these to continue to grow and get better.”  

 The Aggies will travel down Market Street to face Providence of the Big East in the UNC-Greensboro Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday at 3 p.m.