Bland earns weekly honor for the third time this season

 GREENSBORO, February 19, 2007 – It is hard to believe North Carolina A&T women’s basketball player Amber Bland scored just four points and one field goal over her first two games. Perhaps it’s because she is on the verge of breaking the Aggies single-season scoring record and for the third time this season, she was named MEAC Player of the Week.

 For the week of Feb. 12-18, Bland averaged 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists against two of the best teams in the MEAC. During the week, Bland shot 60 percent from the floor and was a combined 9-for-17 from 3-point range.

 Last week, Bland scored 24 points to help the Aggies take over sole possession of second place in the MEAC. A few days later, she led a fierce comeback against the top team in the conference Coppin State before the Aggies lost by three.

 “She truly is a special player,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “She is not only one of the best players our league, but I think she is one of the best players in the nation. This is not an easy league to play in, but she has adjusted well, which says a lot about her determination.”

 Bland has scored 30 points or more three times this season. She has scored 20 or more points 13 times and has scored in double figures in 24 straight games. In fact, the last time she didn’t score in double figures was the second game of the season.  

 The sophomore out of Boardman, Ohio leads the MEAC in scoring and she is 21^st in the nation in scoring.