Box Score
GREENSBORO, January 19, 2009 – Injuries, illnesses and other tough circumstances have defined the 2008-09 seasons of junior Shantar Waddell and sophomore Jaleesa Sams.

That definition changed for the two Aggie forwards on Monday night when they helped the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team rally from a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat Delaware State 56-51 at Corbett Sports Center in a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the MEAC.  

Their late heroics helped the Aggies (11-5, 5-0 MEAC) remain unbeaten in the conference and at home as the Aggies extended their home winning streak to 15. Waddell scored eight points, went 3-for-3 from the floor, hit two crucial free throws in crunch time, grabbed three rebounds, blocked a shot and earned a steal all in a span of 11 minutes.

Sams on the other hand, overcame a shaky first half to finish with 10 points, four steals and no second-half turnovers. On a side note, Brittanie Taylor-James became the 11^th player in the program’s history to reach 1,000 points for her career as she led the Aggies with 16 points.

“(Waddell and Sams) came to play in the second half,’’ said Bibbs. “Their play was the turning point in the game. They really came through when we needed them most.”

Waddell entered at the Aggies lowest point of the game. With 11:04 remaining, the Aggies were facing their biggest deficit of the game at 15 points, 45-30. Therefore, Bibbs turned to a player who had played just 44 minutes in seven games this season.

“We knew we needed some help,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “I told (associate head coach Tarrell Robinson) that we needed to see what Shantar can do. She can rebound and we hadn’t done much of that the whole game.”

As for Sams, she was coming off of a first half in which she turned the ball over four times, was 0-for-2 from the floor and she had two fouls.

“The coaches told me I must be suffering from the case of the nerves again,’’ said Sams, who has missed time this season because of a knee injury, an illness and a death in the family. “Sometimes I start games that way. Once I calmed myself, the game came a lot easier to me.”

Sams showed that by putting the ball on the floor and charging to the basket for a layup to cut the Hornets lead to 45-32 with 10:45 remaining. Waddell then earned a steal, which led to a missed Amber Bland 3-pointer. But Waddell grabbed the offensive rebound and put it in the basket to trim the lead to 11. On the Aggies ensuing possession, Taylor-James missed a three, but had her shot followed by Sams to put the Aggies down 45-36. DSU’s Courtney Crockett finally ended the Aggies 6-0 run by putting her head down and driving to the basket for a layup.

But Sams would strike again. The New Castle, Pa., sophomore put the ball on the floor again and drove to the basket to score. She was fouled on the play and completed the 3-point play to put the Aggies down 47-39 with 8:15 to play. Waddell and Sams continued their onslaught as Sams earned a steal and Waddell capitalized with a layup to cut the lead to six. Waddell would hit three out of four free throws over a two-minute span to make it 49-44 with 5:50 remaining.

Taylor-James got involved with a jumper and a 3-pointer to move the Aggies to within two at 51-49 with 4:42 to play. After a Tierra Thomas free throw, the Aggies took their first lead since the 10:13 mark of the first half as Waddell took down a Sams miss and put it back in the basket for a 52-51 Aggies lead. Waddell was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

Sams grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to give the Aggies a 54-51 lead with 1:25 to play. The Hornets went 0-for-4 from the floor the rest of the way as they fell to 7-10 overall and 3-1 in the MEAC.

“I was happy to be a critical part of the game tonight,’’ said Waddell, who suffered from a knee injury and exhaustion this season. “This season I have had a lot of chances to sit back, watch and learn. Coach always tells me to be ready because you never know when your opportunity is going to come. We needed that spark tonight and I was glad to be able to pick up the slack.”

The Aggies will play arch-rival Winston-Salem State at 4 p.m., on Saturday. The game will not count against the Aggies conference record because Rams are provisional member of the MEAC.