TILLMAN HITS BIG SHOTS TO LEAD N.C. A&T TO VICTORY

Williams scores 12 points and grabs seven rebounds

GREENSBORO, N.C., February 28, 2005 – Kira Tillman did not have a great shooting night, but the shots she did hit on Monday were huge for the Lady Aggies. She scored eight of her 10 points in the final 7:09 to lead N.C. A&T to a 54-47 victory over Bethune-Cookman.

 Neither team shot the ball well. B-CC made just 9-of-29 shots from the field in the second half (31.0 percent), while N.C. A&T shot 10-for-32 (31.3 percent).  

 But three of the Lady Aggie second half field goals belonged to Tillman, who gave N.C. A&T the lead for good with a steal and layup which put her team ahead 45-44 with 7:09 remaining in the contest.

 On the ensuing possession, Tillman capitalized on a B-CC turnover by hitting a driving layup to push the lead to three, then added a third layup on the next Lady Aggie possession to give N.C. A&T a 49-44 edge with 3:51 left to play.

 After Cassandra Calcagno converted a layup for B-CC, Lady Aggie guard Yanumbe Sherman hit a long 3-pointer to give N.C. A&T a 52-46 lead with 3:05 remaining.

 The Lady Aggies held B-CC (4-18, 3-13) to a single free throw the rest of the way, and Tillman sealed the victory with a pair of free throws for the final margin. Tillman finished the night with nine points on 4-for-11 shooting.

 For only the fourth time this season, four Lady Aggies reached double figures, bringing a surprised expression on coach Saudia Roundtree’s face after the game. The same surprised look came when she saw that N.C. A&T had a 46-41 rebounding edge, with Tia Richardson finishing with a game-high 13.

 “We won an ugly game tonight, but everybody got involved in the offense, even when we got cold,” Roundtree said. “Just like Saturday night, we matched their intensity on defense, and that led to some fast break points that were huge. We did a great job of rebounding tonight, especially at the end of the game.”

 Freshman LaKeisha Williams led N.C. A&T (9-17, 8-9 MEAC) with 12 points. Williams also grabbed seven rebounds. Shareka Glover added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

 “Kira stepped up, even though she missed some open looks most of the night,” said Roundtree. “We have to have our guards play through their shooting slumps, and they have to play defense, which is what got us through tonight.”

 Sarah Johnson led the Lady Wildcats with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

 N.C. A&T can finish at .500 in MEAC play for the first time in eight seasons with a win over S.C. State on Mar. 5 at 2 p.m.,  on Senior Day in Corbett Sports Center. Richardson is the Lady Aggies lone senior.