Aggies tie school record for consecutive wins

Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., February 9, 2008 – Junior college transfer Nancy Rembert came to North Carolina A&T with designs on finishing out the final two years of her college career as a Lady Aggie.

But before last season it was discovered that not enough of her credit hours from Lon Morris junior college would be accepted by N.C. A&T, thereby making her ineligible for the season and leaving her with just one year of college eligibility.

Rembert looks as if she is going to make the best of a difficult situation by aiding the Aggies in their quest to win a championship. Rembert, the only senior on the team, scored 18 points, hit several key 3-pointers down the stretch and grabbed nine rebounds to lead N.C. A&T to a 69-53 win over Florida A&M Saturday afternoon at Gaither Gymnasium.

“We knew when we brought Nancy in here she was a big-time player,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “She has such a passion for the game. When she sat out last year, she helped us in every way she could. Now, you can see she wants this championship badly. It’s great to see a kid who really appreciates the opportunity to play Division I basketball.”

The win keeps the Aggies (16-5) unbeaten in the conference at 9-0, and it ties the school record for consecutive wins at nine. The Aggies also tied the 1990-91 team for the best ever start in the MEAC.  Rembert helped keep the winning streak in place as the Aggies faced a Florida A&M aiming for an upset in their gym. The Rattlers jumped out to an 18-7 lead before the Aggies were able to rally to take a one-point halftime lead.

The Aggies took a 45-37 lead on a Rembert 3-pointer with 12:28 remaining in the game. Ta’Wuana Cook followed with a layup to give the Aggies their biggest lead of the game at 47-37. The Rattlers (10-11, 1-8), losers of now eight in a row, wouldn’t let the Aggies pull away. They put together an 8-0 run capped by a Taniyah Dawson jumper in the lane that made it 47-45 with 8:04 to play.

“Florida A&M brought their total ‘A’ game today,’’ said Bibbs. “They really mixed things up on the defensive end, which threw us sometimes. But my ladies wanted to win. They want to stay on top off the conference, so we kept fighting as well.”

The Aggies pulled away from the Rattlers for the last time after the five-minute mark. Amber Bland took a swing pass from Brittanie Taylor-James and nailed a three to give the Aggies a 54-47 lead with 4:51 remaining. Florida A&M’s Stephanie Foster kept the Rattlers in it by grabbing a Q’Vaundra Curry miss and scoring to make it 54-49. Foster was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.

Rembert grabbed the board and started the Aggies the other way. Shantar Waddell finished with a jump shot to give the Aggies a seven-point lead. After a Rattlers turnover, Rembert put the game away with her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give the Aggies a 59-49 lead with 3:17 remaining.

“I wanted to see what happened when we put enough faith in her to put her in the starting lineup,’’ said Bibbs who inserted Rembert as a starter four games ago. “And she did what you expect a senior to do. She stepped up. She almost had a double-double tonight and she wasn’t afraid to take the big shot. That tells me she’s thrilled to be playing again.”

The Aggies put their undefeated conference record on the line again on Monday when they face Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla., at 5:30 p.m. Ta’Wuana Cook added 17 points for the Aggies, and Bland and Taylor-James scored in double figures with 11 and 10 respectively.

“Anytime you can come back on the road, it’s big,’’ said Bibbs. “We had our character tested today and I think the ladies passed. We have plenty more of these road games to go so realize it’s going to be fight from here on out.”