Aggies are 4-0 in the conference for the first time since the 89-90

 Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., January 13, 2007 – Every North Carolina A&T women’s basketball conference game has pretty much gone the same way. The Aggies build a double-digit first-half lead and then spend the rest of the game trying to hold off a frantic comeback attempt by their opponent.

 Fortunately, the result has been the same – a win. On Saturday, it was Bethune-Cookman who fell behind early, tried to rally, only to have the Aggies come away with a 75-62 win at Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Bethune-Cookman College.

 N.C. A&T remained unbeaten in the MEAC, improving to 9-6 overall and 4-0 in the conference. Amber Bland led the way with 22 points as she hit a season-high five 3-pointers. Brittanie Taylor-James and Ta’Wuana “Tweet” Cook had 17 points apiece.

 “We’ve been blessed this season, said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “We’ve made some youthful mistakes, but we’ve been able to get off to good starts, which has given us room for error. But there are going to be games where it will be close down the stretch, so we can’t afford to make mistakes.

 The Aggies built a 14-point lead in the first half on Saturday, but the Wildcats wouldn’t let the lead grow much larger. Taylor-James gave the Aggies a 17-point lead, 69-52, with 2:24 to play. Wildcats guard Tristan McCray knocked down and three followed by Rosanna Jones’ three that cut the Aggies lead to 11 at 69-58.

 Sierra McKnight moved the Wildcats deficit under 10 for the first time since it was 3:20 mark of the first half when she hit a short jumper with 1:15 remaining to cut the Aggies lead to nine. But Lamona Smalley found Taylor-James sprinting toward the basket and connected with her on a perfect baseball pass that led to a game-clinching layup.

 “There are a lot of things we need to work on, but it sure is good to be 4-0,” said Bibbs. “We’re excited for these young ladies, but we want to stress to them that there is a long way to go.”

 The Aggies return to action on Monday at 5:30 p.m., when they face one of the top teams in the MEAC – Florida A&M at Gaither Gymnasium.