AGGIES RALLY STINGS HORNETS

DOVER, DEL., January 9, 2006 -- What worked for Patricia Cage-Bibbs in earning 241 wins as the women's basketball coach at Grambling, and 127 wins as the head coach at Hampton, worked for her in her first win as the women's basketball at N.C. A&T.

The Aggies effectively executed Bibbs'   "pressure cooker" fullcourt defense with tenacity as they rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the game to earn a 50-49 win at Memorial Hall.

LaKeisha Williams scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and was instrumental in the Aggies come-from-behind win. Bianca Johnson added 10 points and Shareka Glover became the seventh N.C. A&T player to reach 1,000 points since the NCAA started recognizing Aggie statistics in 1982.

"They listened,'' said Bibbs. "When they listen and see it work, it starts making sense to them. We played great on the defensive end tonight against a team that is pretty good offensively. I'm so happy for the kids. When you have as many freshmen as we do, you don't worry about the wins. You just want them to learn the system and grow. The wins will come."

Leading 49-45, the Hornets had a chance to seal the game at the free throw line, but missed the front end of one-and-ones at the free throw line on two consecutive trips.

When Glover missed a layup with 26 seconds remaining, it appeared the missed free throws wouldn't hurt as Ashlee Burbage collected the rebound for the Hornets. Williams, however, snuck in and stole it from Burbage and scored on a layup to make it 49-47 with 12 seconds remaining. 

KIra Tillman then fouled Collier and sent her to the line for two free throws. Collier missed both, giving the Aggies an opportunity to tie the game or win it with 4.2 seconds remaining. After an Aggies timeout, Tillman cut to the basket, took an inbounds pass from Glover and muscled her way to the basket as she scored and was fouled on the play by Burbage.

Tillman hit the free throw to give the Aggies a one-point advantage and eventually the win. The Aggies (1-11) first win came when it appeared they were not going to be able to hit enough shots to challenge the Hornets. With 4:42 remaining, Hornets center Najmah Fauntleroy hit a jump shot from just inside the free throw line to give Delaware State a 47-36 lead. At that point, the Aggies had made just one field goal in the second half and scored 11 points.

Bibbs then turned to an all-guard lineup and turned the "pressure cooker" up to full power. It resulted in a Hornets turnover and missed jump shot, which led to baskets from Williams and Bianca Johnson that cut the lead to seven, 47-40 with 3:38 remaining.

Another Hornets turnover resulted in a steal and layup for Williams that cut the lead to five. After another turnover by the Hornets thanks to the Aggies' press, Williams came through again as she hit a 3-pointer in front of the Aggies bench to cut the Hornets lead to 47-45 with 2:09 to play. Williams scored seven points in the final three minutes of the game.  

"(LaKeisha) showed tonight what kind of player she can be for us,'' Bibbs said. "She is a solid defensive player, and if she can turn some of that defense into offense, we're going to be that much better."

Lost in the excitement of the Aggies win was Glover scoring her 1,000th point for the Aggies. Glover, who is also closing in on the school's steals record, stole the ball from Katreem Palmer and scored on a fastbreak layup with 10:24 remaining in the first half to reach the milestone.

"I'm happy she got 1,000 points, and I'm even happier she got it on a night we won,'' said Bibbs." The Aggies return home after a 42-day absence from Corbett Sports Center as they will face Bethune-Cookman Saturday at 2 p.m.