We played the No. 12 ranked team on their home court and could've won this game.
www.ncataggies.com/Womensbasketball/2007-2008%20articles/aggiesvaggies1230.htmAGGIES NEARLY UPSET AGGIES
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Bland scores 23 points, grabs seven rebounds
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, December 30, 2007 – Following a win on Dec. 19 in which she wasn’t impressed with her team’s performance, North Carolina A&T women’s basketball coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs told her players to use the Christmas break to relax and re-focus their attention on doing the little things that help win basketball games.
Apparently, her players did just that. On Sunday afternoon against the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies, the Aggies looked focus in every aspect of the game except one – free throw shooting. And it cost them an upset win over the Aggies from College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M hit 24 of its 25 free throws for a school-record .960 free throw shooting percentage to defeat the Aggies 74-65 at Reed Arena. The Aggies were just 13-for-23 from the line. Amber Bland led the Aggies with 23 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Ta’Wuana Cook added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Lonise Coulter was 6-for-6 from the floor and finished with 12.
“Free throws, free throws, free throws’’ said Bibbs. “I tell my team all the time that free throws win ballgames. If we knock those downs, who knows? There might have been a different outcome. But this is a great learning experience for my young team.
To come in here and play a team that caliber of Texas A&M and play them well, is another step forward for my young people. I think they can really grow after this.”
Texas A&M ended the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 42-32 lead. They opened the second half by scoring the first three points to give the impression that the nationally-ranked Aggies would impose their will over the mid-major Aggies.
But N.C. A&T (7-4) responded. Sams ignited a 15-0 run by knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner. Bland ended the run with a short jumper in the lane to give the Aggies a 47-45 lead with 10:12 to play. During the run, the Aggies forced Texas A&M into seven turnovers and 0-for-8 shooting from the field.
A minute later, after LaToya Gulley tied the game at 49, N.C. A&T made the faithful at Reed Arena real jittery. Sams hit two free throws. Coulter then stole the ball from senior point guard A’Quonesia Franklin and raced down court to earn a reward from Cook who bounced a perfect pass to her to give N.C. A&T a 53-49 lead with 8:21 to play.
The second half was 20 minutes in the ballgame that wasn’t pleasant to coach,’’ said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair. “One thing we are doing is facing good teams. These are not no-name teams. The last two teams we played are NCAA-caliber teams in UTA and North Carolina A&T. We are bringing in teams to get us ready for conference play. Patricia Cage-Bibbs is one of the best coaches around and I am happy for her and what she has done at North Carolina A&T.”
N.C. A&T held the lead until the 6:10 mark when a Franklin jumper gave Texas A&M a 57-55 lead. Bland then had a 3-pointer rattled out on her and then had two layups roll off the rim. “Those are shots Amber Bland doesn’t miss too often,’’ said Bibbs.
Texas A&M then started asserting itself at the line, hitting eight straight free throws during a 10-2 run that gave the No. 12 Aggies a 65-57 lead with 2:32 remaining.
“I thought we really executed our game plan well,’’ said Bibbs. “We wanted to give them some different looks and that made them turn it over. I don’t think we stopped doing the things we were doing to get ahead. I just thought we missed out on some opportunities we had.”
N.C. A&T travels down the road on Wednesday to face another nationally-ranked Big 12 school in Baylor.
