A&T/FAMU WBB Recap
www.rattlernews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2...02100327/1002/SPORTSOriginally published February 10, 2008
2nd half sinks Lady Rattlers
By Heath A. Smith
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The second-half collapses continued for the Florida A&M women's basketball team Saturday afternoon as the Lady Rattlers fell to the first-place North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies 69-53 at Gaither Gymnasium.
The Lady Rattlers, sporting their new pink uniforms in support of the "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness initiative, trailed by just a point in the first half but were outscored 41-26 in the second half. The woes sent FAMU to its 10th loss in 11 games.
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"Four minutes out in the second half, we didn't make plays," said FAMU women's basketball coach Debra Clark. "They came down twice and we left shooters wide open and they made two huge 3-pointers.
"We have to make plays on both ends of the court. You put yourself in positions to win the game and then you just go south."
The loss dropped the Rattlers (10-11, 1-8 in the MEAC) below .500 for the first time this season after jumping out to a 9-1 start. The Aggies improved to 16-5, 9-0 with the win.
FAMU shot just 33.8 percent from the field, 32.4 percent in the second half. It could have been a lot worse if not for the efforts of junior forward Stephanie Foster, who led all scorers with 26 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field.
The rest of the team shot just of 12 of 47 from the field.
"Stephanie was outstanding," Clark said. "I knew she had it in her, but she kept us in the game. If we could have got just a little bit more out of everybody else, we could have easily won the game."
Foster was the only Lady Rattler in double figures. The next leading scorer was senior guard Josylne Jackson, who finished with nine points, all scored in the second half.
Outside of Foster, FAMU's four other starters went a combined 10 of 40 from the field, and the reserves went a combined 2 of 7 from the field.
"I told them that we need more than one person carrying us," Clark said. "We are thin in numbers, so we have to get productivity out of everyone. It's not fair to the girls that have to play 35 minutes to have sub come in and there is a drop-off."
On the flip side, the Lady Aggies had five players in double figures, including 11 points off the bench from forward Jalessa Sams.
Guard Nancy Rembert led the Lady Aggies with 18 points, followed by guard Ta'Wuana Cook with 17 points.
As has been the pattern during FAMU's free fall, the Lady Rattlers played well in the first half, leading by as much as 11 points against the Lady Aggies.
"In the first half we broke their press and had numerous opportunities to score, but we didn't convert," Clark said. "I knew that against a good team those points would come back to haunt us."
In fact, the Lady Rattlers matched up well with the Lady Aggies in just about every category expected in second half shooting and most importantly in the win-loss column.
Noteworthy
After the women's game breast-cancer survivors were recognized and honored by FAMU President James Ammons, the team and other school administrators.
Junior forward Denise Tate played in her first game since the death of her father. Tate did not play in the Lady Rattlers last two games to attend her father's funeral.
Tate finished with a game-high 13 rebounds in her return, despite foul trouble.
"Denise gave us a good spark," Clark said. "We missed her down at South Carolina State with her rebounding. She put some baskets in the ball. She had a good game overall, but foul trouble just hurt her."
