GLOVER, JOHNSON IMPRESSIVE IN WIN OVER WILDCATS

Glover scores 25 points in win

 Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., February 11, 2006 – North Carolina A&T’s women’s basketball team continued what has been a pattern of late. After a lesser performance, the Aggies return with a strong performance.

 This time, Bethune-Cookman was the victim of the rebound as the Aggies defeated the Wildcats 81-56at Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Shareka Glover led the Aggies with 25 points and six assists, while Bianca Johnson added 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 8-for-12 shooting from the free throw line.

 With the win, the Aggies (6-14, 6-5 in the MEAC) are in the middle of hotly contested battle for one of the top five seeds in the tournament, which will guarantee they will not have to play on Monday and have to win four games to win the MEAC.

 Other than Coppin State, who is four games ahead of his next competitor, all five spots are still wide open. Therefore, finishing as high as second place is not out of the question for the Aggies. The Aggies collide with one of those teams in the middle on Monday when they travel to Florida A&M to play the Rattlers.

 “I appreciate the effort from our young ladies,” said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “They made a run at us in the second half, but I’m glad I have senior leaders on this team. We had a good performance, but we have to travel up the street and do the same thing on Monday.”

 The Aggies started slow on Saturday against Bethune-Cookman. But after falling behind 13-10 midway through the first half, the Aggies used a 13-0 run to build a 23-13 lead thanks to play of Melea Gibson.

 Gibson, who had all 10 of her points in the first half, scored six of them during the run thanks to strong work on the offensive boards. The Aggies would build their first-half lead to as many as 12 before going into the locker room with a 33-22 halftime lead.

 The Wildcats (4-16, 3-9) were able to get within eight early in the second half, but Glover and then fellow senior Johnson would squelch any designs on a full-fledged run. Johnson’s jump shot gave the Aggies a 41-31 lead at the 15-minute mark and a Glover 3-pointer from the corner pushed the lead to 13. The Wildcats would never again be able to pull within single digits again.

 Glover made sure at the 10:06 mark with the Aggies holding a 52-41 lead. Glover would go on a personal 9-0 similar to the personal 16-0 run she had earlier in the season against Morgan State in which she scored a school-record 45. Johnson would add six points to the run to push the Aggies lead to 67-41.

 The Aggies will try to repeat their strong performance in Tallahassee. After going 3-1 during a January homestand, the Aggies have not been able to come up with back-to-back strong games.

 They loss to Norfolk State by double digits, defeated Hampton, loss by double figures to Delaware State before blowing out the Wildcats Saturday.