SATURDAY'S SCRIMMAGE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

GREENSBORO, N.C. – November 2, 2005 – One of the first items Patricia Cage-Bibbs mentioned in the press conference announcing her arrival as women’s basketball coach at N.C. A&T was the outstanding play of senior guard Shareka Glover. “[Glover] gave us fits while I was at Hampton, and I’m happy to coach her for a change,“ Bibbs said.

Glover, a MEAC preseason first-team selection, and her teammates did not disappoint the Aggie fans who came out to see a sneak preview of the 2005-06 edition of the women’s basketball team in the Blue and Gold Scrimmage Wednesday night.

Glover’s Gold team lost to the Blue Team 80-73. Wednesday was the only chance for the public to see the women’s team in Corbett Sports Center before the team plays its first home game on Nov. 29 against East Carolina at 7 p.m. The Aggies will have a scrimmage against M.I. Express on Saturday, Nov. 5, but the scrimmage is closed to the public.

The Blue team, coached by assistant Tennille Adams, got off to an early lead in the first half behind freshman guard Ryann King, who scored nine points, all on perimeter jumpers. King’s 3-pointer with 2:15 left in the half gave the Blue squad a 39-27 lead, the largest of the contest.  

The Gold team, coached by assistant Tarrell Robinson, got solid first half efforts from redshirt sophomore forward Melea Gibson and senior guard Kira Tillman. Gibson powered her way inside to 12 first half points, while Tillman added 11 points on three 3-pointers.

Glover took over the second half with 15 of her 21 points. She added a bit of flair with some crowd pleasing cross-over dribbles and a no-look pass to a cutting Gibson for a layup. Senior forward Bianca Johnson scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half to key a Gold team’s rally.

When the Gold drew within 53-51 midway through the second half, sophomore center Tiffany Williams scored eight points in a four-minute stretch to key a 25-14 run that put the game away for the Blue team. Williams finished with 14 points, while King added 13 and Tiffaney Grady finished with 10.

All but one of the 15 players scored and each received opportunities to show the coaching staff what they could do in a game situation, an important factor for Bibbs, who is just 16 days away from the Nov. 18 season opener at Elon.

“For the short time, we’ve been together…we’ve done a lot of work,” Bibbs said after the game. “We have to improve defensively. I thought we gave up too many points. But I like what we have so far.”