N.C. A&T Aggies (7-5, 1-0 MEAC)
vs.
Morgan State Bears (7-5, 1-0 MEAC)

Jan. 12, 2008 • Irvin-Corbett Court
Greensboro, N.C.    • 2 p.m.
AGGIES’ PROBABLE STARTERS

G 23        Amber Bland            5-11         Jr.            13.8 ppg  5.7 rpg     2.4 spg
• Averaged 20.6 points per game in the conference last season.

G  5         Ta’Wuana Cook       5-8           So.           10.8 ppg  3.3 rpg     2.4 apg
• She makes the Aggies very athletic.

G 3          Tyronnica Alford      5-8           So.           3.5 ppg    2.1 rpg     2.5 apg
• She allows Cook to play off the ball.

F 32         Jalessa Sams         5-11          Fr.           9.3  ppg   4.8 rpg     2.1 spg
• She is on a roll as of late. 

C 45        Lamona Smalley      6-0           So.           8.2 ppg    6.3 rpg     1.6 spg
• Before it’s all over, she could be the Aggies unsung hero at season’s end.

AGGIES’ PROBABLE RESERVES 

C 1          Lonise Coulter         6-2           So.           4.7 ppg    3.0 rpg     0.7 bpg
• Her shot-blocking numbers should go up in the conference

G 2          Nancy Rembert       5-9           Sr.           4.5 ppg    2.3 rpg     1.1 apg
• If she can provide scoring off the bench, the Aggies will be dangerous.

C 11        Brittane Neely          6-2           Fr.           0.8 ppg    0.8 rpg     0.1 spg
• Still trying to find her way as a Division I player. Will be an excellent rebounder before it’s over.

F 12         Shantar Waddell      6-1           So.           0.7 ppg    0.8 rpg     0.2 bpg
• Long wingspan makes her a tough defender…Should be able to help the Aggies more in conference play.

G 21        Taryn Russ             5-9           Fr.           1.5 ppg    0.8 rpg     0.6 apg
• Another Aggie freshman growing accustomed to the Division I game.

F 22         Brittanie Taylor-James6-0        Jr.            8.2 ppg    3.6 rpg     1.2 apg
• Taylor-James in instant offense coming off the Aggies bench.

F 30         Ahmad Williams        5-9           Jr.            2.1 ppg    1.4 rpg     0.5 spg
• Williams has the longest tenure on the team.

 

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

                                                                        A&T                                         MSU

Scoring Offense                                              66.8                                         66.6
Scoring Defense                                             62.2                                         65.8
Scoring Margin                                               +4.5                                         +0.8
FG Percentage                                         .     .415                                         .357
FG % Defense                                               .401                                         .405
3-pt FG Percentage                                  .     .303                                         .265
3-pt FG% Defense                                         .246                                         .380
FT Percentage                                                .627                                         .671
Rebounding                                                     39.1                                         42.1
Rebounding Allowed                                      37.8                                         41.9
Rebounding Margin                                         +1.3                                         +0.2
Assists                                                            13.3                                         10.3
Turnovers                                                        21.7                                         18.6
Turnover Margin                                              +2.7                                         +4.9
Steals                                                              12.3                                         14.0
Blocked Shots                                                3.1                                           2.3

Individual Leaders

                                         A&T                  MSU

Points              Bland (13.8)                 Adams (16.8)
Rebounds        Smalley (6.3)               Griffin (6.7)
Assists            Alford (2.5)                   Adams (4.3)
Steals              Bland (2.4)                   Adams (4.2)
FG Pct.           Coulter (.632)               Scott (.579)
3-pt FG Pct.    Bland (.350)                 Sellers (.361)
FT Pct.            Bland (.882)                 Price (.789)
Blocks             Smalley (0.9)               Griffin (0.7)

THE SERIES
Morgan State leads the all-time series 27-17, but the Aggies swept last seasons’ games, winning 69-62 in Baltimore and 89-69 in Greensboro. The Aggies have won five out of the last six games with the Bears.  

THE BEARS  
Morgan State has now defeated the best team in the conference the last three seasons on two straight occasions. The Bears upset Coppin State in the 2007 MEAC Tournament and repeated the feat in December when they ended the Eagles 41-game home winning streak. The Bears have outstanding guard play led by Corin Adams who leads the team in scoring, assists and steals. Adams is also a good rebounder for guard, averaging 5.5 boards per game. She is the only Bear averaging double figures. No Bear besides Adams averages more than 24 minutes.

THE GAME
The Aggies know they’re about to enter a tough conference season. The Aggies open with a Bears team that has a ton of momentum heading into Greensboro. The Aggies played well against Texas A&M at the end of the year, but could not repeat that performance to start the year when they traveled to Waco, Texas to face Baylor. The Aggies have lost four out of their five games, but two of those games were against ACC opponents and two of those games were against ranked Big 12 opponents. The key likely will be Amber Bland. She averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two games against the Bears last season.   

LOOK FOR…

…The Aggies to let Tyronnica Alford go up against the Bears best player in Corin Adams. Alford is a solid defender and could help Amber Bland stay out of foul trouble with her defense against Adams.

…The Bears to try and beat the Aggies from the outside. The Bears have taken 215 3-pointers and could use the outside shot to neutralize the Aggies athletic ability.  

…A refreshed Aggies team. The Aggies had a tough end to the year, playing two nationally ranked teams. But the Aggies have had 10 days off since that point, which should help them get motivated for the conference season.  

PROBABLE STARTERS

Position     #     Player                                          Ht.	Comments
Forward     32   Jalessa Sams                             5-11	Sams has come on strong as of late, scoring in double figures in her last four outings…The freshman out of New Castle, Pa., had 12 points and four rebounds against No. 10 Baylor and 11 points and seven rebounds against No. 12 Texas A&M. Sams’ effort against Texas A&M earned her MEAC Rookie of the Week honors…She is averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and she is averaging 11.9 points over her last four games.
Forward       45   Lamona Smalley                     6-0	Lamona Smalley is an undersized post player who continues to play well despite her size…Smalley provides a defensive presence in the post and she can score in multiple ways…The Aggies are 4-1 when Smalley scores in double figures…She had just four points and four rebounds against Baylor and had just four points in a nine-point loss to Texas A&M…She leads the Aggies in rebounding and ranks 12th in the conference…Smalley is second in the conference in field goal percentage at .489.
Guard      3   Tyronnica Alford                            5-8	Alford provides North Carolina A&T with an additional ball-handler on the floor…Alford leads the team in assists and ranks 15th in the conference in assists…Alford is averaging 3.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game…Alford shares the point guard duties with Ta’Wuana Cook…In her last five games, Alford has dished out eight assists but turn the ball over 16 times…Alford is a pass-first point guard, having shot the ball only 11 times in her last four games.
Guard        23   Amber Bland                             5-11	The Aggies best player is starting to come around just at the right moment…Before scoring seven points against Baylor on Jan. 2, Bland had scored 49 points in her previous two games…She is also starting to become more aggressive…After taking just seven shots against Virginia Tech, Bland has taken 59 shots over her last four games, shooting .441 from the floor in those games…On the season, Bland is averaging 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game…She ranks 10th in the conference in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage (.459) and seventh in steals …Last season she was named first-team All-MEAC…She also broke the single-season school records for points (589), points per game (19.6), field goals attempted (497) and minutes played (1,100). Attended North Carolina A&T in 2005-06, but sat out because of NCAA transfer rules.
Guard        5    Ta’Wuana Cook                         5-8	Cook has become a combo guard as this season has progressed…The sophomore out of Fayetteville has started every game she has played for the Aggies over the last 1 ½ seasons…Cook played 30 minutes against Baylor on Jan. 2 and scored five points and dished out two assists in the loss…She has scored in double figures in seven out of her 12 games…On the season she is averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists…Cook loves to penetrate to the basket and ranks second on the team free throw attempts behind Jalessa Sams with 48 attempts…She is shooting .394 from the field and .304 from 3-point range…Last season, Cook became the first Lady Aggie to win MEAC Rookie of the Year honors…Goes from one end of the floor to the other with the ball in her hand as fast as anyone in the country…Also showed the ability to penetrate to the basket and either score or get to the free throw line…Led the Aggies in free throw attempts with 172 free throws, 30 more than any other teammate.