Taylor-James breaks single-season scoring record

Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, March 13, 2009 – Before the start of the season, North Carolina A&T juniors Lamona Smalley and Ta’Wuana Cook were established starters.

Now, both players have seen their roles changed over the last three weeks. They are expected to give the Aggies a spark off the bench.

On Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament, they did just that. Smalley and Cook scored 10 points apiece with Smalley adding nine rebounds to her totals to lead N.C. A&T to its second straight MEAC Championship game with a 74-56 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Aggies will face Hampton Saturday at noon from LJVM.

“They both have accepted that they’re going to come off the bench,’’ said Bibbs. “They’re big-time players, but they have discovered they like to start the game on the bench and get a feel for the pace. Anytime you can look to the bench and bring in players of their caliber, it’s huge for your team.”

Cook, who made 62 starts in 62 games played before the start of this season, began coming off the bench after the Aggies sole conference loss on Feb. 16 against Delaware State. A week later, Smalley joined her as reserve after starting 48 of the 49 games she played prior to this season.

With a team comprised of outstanding scorers such as Amber Bland, Brittanie Taylor-James and Jaleesa Sams, Bibbs felt she needed some fire power coming off the bench as games progressed. Cook was the 2006-07 MEAC Rookie of the Year and a two-time all-conference performer.  Smalley made the 2008 MEAC All-Tournament team. Therefore, they became the perfect candidates.

Smalley was used early Friday afternoon after starting center Nakia DeBlanc went down with an injury. Smalley stepped in and made a difference on the boards by grabbing five first-half rebounds to help the Aggies build a 28-17 halftime lead. The Aggies led by as many as 15 in the first half, but the Fighting Hawks fought throughout the second half to make sure the Aggies didn’t too far ahead.

First-team all-conference performer April McBride didn’t take a shot in the first half. She came out in the second half more aggressive, scoring 10 of UMES’ first 16 points of the second half to cut the Aggies lead to 35-33. The Aggies responded by going on a 7-0 run capped by a Cook 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 42-33 lead.

UMES moved back to within five at 44-39 before the Aggies put together a 12-3 run that ended when Shantar Waddell hit a baseline jumper and was fouled. She completed the 3-point play for a 57-42 Aggies lead. UMES scored five straight points thanks to a Casey Morton 3-pointer and two McBride free throws.

But with the shot clock at two seconds, Taylor-James pulled up for a deep three that connected for a 60-47 Aggies lead with 4:19 to play. The Hawks never recovered from that blow. “We had to fight for everything tonight,’’ said Bibbs. “We lost one of our best players, and that was tough. But we didn’t come here to make excuses. We came here to win this tournament.”

Taylor-James led the Aggies with 20 points. In the process, she broke the Aggies single-season scoring record by breaking Bland’s record set during the 2006-07 mark with 589 points. Taylor-James has scored 600 points this season.