Aggies battle back from six-point overtime deficit

Box Score
RALEIGH, N.C., March 14, 2008 – One day soon Patricia Cage-Bibbs will no longer have to describe Lamona Smalley as if she is someone who just stepped on campus. Those who know N.C. A&T women’s basketball, realize Smalley has been the spark plug in a number of the Aggies wins this season.

Count Friday afternoon’s 74-71 overtime victory over Hampton in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament at the RBC Center as one of those games. Smalley hit the game-tying shot to send the game into overtime. She then hit a crucial game-tying overtime shot and made the assists on the game-winning basket in overtime.

In addition, she made several key defensive stops down the stretch and her line was reflective her performance. She scored 12 points, had 12 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals to help the Aggies advance to their first MEAC Championship game in 14 years. It was Smalley’s seventh career double-double and her sixth of the season. The Aggies will play Coppin State Saturday afternoon at 1 from the RBC Center.

“Every time (Smalley) has a game like this I have to talk about her like this is not common for her,’’ said Bibbs. “This is what Lamona Smalley does. This is who Lamona Smalley is. She is an intelligent player who gives us everything she has every game. She knows what to do when she has the basketball her hands.”

That was evident in overtime. The Pirates scored the first six points of overtime to take a 69-63 lead. Nancy Rembert ended the run by following her own miss with 2:59 remaining in overtime. Quanneisha Perry answered with a jump shot in the lane to put the Pirates ahead by six. The Pirates had a chance to add to their lead when Ukoh grabbed a defensive rebound from a Rembert miss. But Rembert made a heads up play by snatching the ball away from Ukoh and was fouled as she tried to score.

Rembert hit one of two free throws, but her heady defensive play sparked the Aggies. The Pirates turned the ball over on their next possession, which led to Amber Bland pulling up for a 3-pointer and nailing it to cut the Pirates lead to two. Cook would take a charge from Butler to get the Aggies the ball back. Bland utilized the turnover by zipping a pass to Smalley underneath to tie the game at 71.

Perry tried to recapture the lead for Hampton, but her jump shot in the lane went in and came out and Smalley grabbed the board. Smalley came down the floor, spotted Brittanie Taylor-James cutting to the basket. Taylor-James made a strong move to the basket, scored and was fouled to give the Aggies a 73-71 lead. Freshman Jalessa Sams added a free throw to give the Aggies a 3-point lead. Burns had a shot to tie the game, but her shot went wide as the Aggies ended the game on a 9-0 run and avenged their only conference loss of the season.

“When we beat them up in Hampton it was a game of runs,’’ said Hampton coach Walter Mebane. “I told my team this was going to be a game of runs. Unfortunately, they made the final run and we ran out of time.”

The Pirates also lost a late lead in regulation. With the Aggies trailing 60-56 with one minute remaining, Sams took a shot from near the press row table and buried it to put the Aggies down one. Burns then turned the ball over and Ta’Wuana Cook capitalized by driving the ball to the basket to give N.C. A&T a 61-60 lead with 24 seconds remaining.

But Butler, who had previously hit two 3-pointers as the shot clock buzzer went off, raced down the floor and pulled for a 3-pointer that went through for a 63-61 Hampton lead with 12 seconds remaining. Mebane said the strategy after Butler’s shot was to foul the Aggies repeatedly because the Aggies were still three fouls short of reaching the bonus.

“The thinking is you let the clock run down a little and then foul,’’ said Mebane. Once they in-bound the ball, you let the clock run down and then foul again until they only have about three seconds to operate.”

What sounded like a sound move didn’t work because the Pirates could never catch up to the Aggies to foul. Then in stepped Smalley again. Cook avoided being fouled by Butler and threw a pass to Sams. Sams turned and whipped a pass to Smalley in the post, who found herself wide open for a layup.

 “I told the ladies this game belongs to us,’’ said Bibbs. “Anytime you’re the team that ties the game you go into the overtime with a lot of confidence. My team is not afraid of anything and they showed a lot of guts today.”

 Ukoh led the Pirates with 26 points and 12 rebounds and Butler added 25 points. Taylor-James finished with 16 for the Aggies and Bland had 17 points and seven rebounds. But it was Smalley’s play that keyed the Aggies. She gets lost in the shuffle so much; even Smalley’s teammate had to correct a reporter’s description of Smalley as a “quiet assassin” on the court.

 “Lamona’s not quiet,’’ said Bland.