Box Score          
GREENSBORO, November 16, 2007 – North Carolina A&T women’s basketball coach wanted to play a team with impressive credentials early in the season to see how her team would measure up.

Liberty has won 10 out of the last 11 Big South championships and still has many of the players who went to the Sweet 16 in 2005. So they definitely fit the description.

After the Aggies 68-64 loss to the Flames Friday night at the Corbett Sports Center, where do the Aggies stand?

“We’re not that far from being a really good team,’’ said Bibbs. “It’s just the little things hurting us right now – the fundamentals. When you bring in a team like Liberty that is very experienced, it’s a good measuring stick for your program. They have a starting five that can simply get it done. These are the types of team you have to play early in the season in order to get ready for the conference.”

The Aggies used their athleticism to counter the Flames size advantage, therefore in the end the difference was the Flames ability to execute offensively down the stretch. Liberty led throughout most of the game, but two Lamona Smalley free throws with 4:29 remaining in the game gave the Aggies a 59-57 lead with 4:29 remaining in the game.

It was the Aggies first lead since the 14:09 mark of the first half. But the Aggies offense would struggle from there. N.C. A&T went scoreless over the next 3 ½ minutes of the game. A Jalessa Sams turnover led to a Moriah Frazee layup that tied the game at 59. Courtney Watkins followed with her third 3-pointer of the game to give Liberty the lead for good. The Flames ended their 10-0 run with a steal by Rachel McLeod that led to a Megan Frazee layup and a 67-59 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

“When we took the lead we didn’t take care of the ball,’’ said Amber Bland who had eight points and nine rebounds. “I think we kept playing like a team that was still trying to catch up instead of playing like a team in the lead. We weren’t playing smart at that point.”

Brittanie Taylor-James’ 3-pointer ended the Aggies scoring drought. Sams followed with a layup to cut Liberty’s lead to 67-64 with 10 seconds remaining. But the Flames were able to ice the game at the line.

The Liberty triplets – Megan, Moriah and Molly Frazee – combined for 36 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Flames. Watkins added 15 points as the Flames improved to 2-0 on the season by beating Greensboro’s two Division I schools. Megan Frazee led the sister trio with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Aggies were led by sophomore Ta’Wuana Cook, who scored 15 points. Sams was the only other Aggie double figures. She had 10.

“This is one of the best teams in the country,” said Bibbs. “All you have to do is look at their recent success. We were able to cause 21 turnovers. If we had done a couple of more things better defensively we could have won this ball game. I thought we definitely disrupted some of the things they wanted to do.”

The Aggies (1-1) return to action 7 p.m., Monday when they travel to Elon to face the Phoenix. The loss means Bibbs still has 398 career wins.