Five Aggies score in double figures  

Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, March 11, 2009 – Things are going as planned. Throughout a season in which the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team endured several injuries to key players, head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs preached the need for others to step up and produce.

Now that it is the postseason, those players appear prepared to contribute. The Aggies had five players score in double figures as they defeated Howard 80-52 in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum Wednesday afternoon.

Three-time all-conference performer Amber Bland, who missed the Aggies last two games with a knee injury, led the Aggies with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. MEAC Player of the Year Brittanie Taylor-James and Ta’Wuana Cook had 14 points apiece. Nakia DeBlanc and Reisha Bullock had 10 apiece.

“We had good balance offensively,’’ said Bibbs. “Obviously, we were very happy to get this one out of the way and come out with a win. We just want our team to stay focused on our task. Regardless of our seeding, we’re going to keep on working.”

A year ago in the quarterfinals, the ninth-seeded Florida A&M Rattlers challenged the Aggies throughout the game before N.C. A&T was able to pull away late.

Wednesday’s game against the Bison was a different story. The Aggies played the role of No. 1 seed to perfection. After losing the 2008 MEAC Tournament championship game by two points to Coppin State, the Aggies are focused on making sure they don’t miss out on another chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“One down two to go,’’ said Taylor-James. “We’re on a mission. We have a picture in our locker room of that shot (the last second shot Rashida Suber hit to beat the Aggies in the 2008 title game). Every day we see it, it gives us motivation. We want to take advantage of our second opportunity.”

The Aggies appear content on reaching their goal by playing defense. N.C. A&T is known for its full-court pressure defense. But on Wednesday, the Aggies switched defenses several times to keep the Bison off balance. The Bison shot just 32.1 percent from the floor and scored just 14 points in the paint.

At the 10:20 mark of the first half, Bibbs turned and put the former MEAC Rookie of the Year in the game in Cook. The two-time all-conference performer took over the game from there. She hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Aggies a 30-15 lead. The Bison was never able to get the lead under double figures again.

N.C. A&T received a big boost at the end of the first half, as Tyronnica Alford took a long pass, caught the ball in the paint, and turned quickly to pass the ball to Taylor-James running down court on the wing. Taylor-James caught the pass, and knocked down a 15-footer from the baseline as the first half buzzer sounded to give the Aggies a 38-25 halftime lead.

It didn’t get any prettier from there for Howard. Cook’s 3-pointer with 9:35 remaining in the game gave the Aggies a 59-39 lead, the Aggies first 20-point lead of the game. Howard never got any closer as its season comes to an end at 8-22.

Meanwhile, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State will play one another Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The Aggies (24-6) will get the winner in the semifinals Friday at noon from LJVM.