www.news-record.com/content/2009/03/12/article/aggies_advance_with_dominating_effort_in_meac_quarterfinalAggies advance with dominating effort in MEAC quarterfinal
Thursday, March 12
( updated 8:26 am)
By BRIAN JOURA
Special to the News & Record
MEAC TOURNAMENT
When: Through Saturday Where: Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem Tickets: Available at ticketmaster.com or by calling (404) 249-6400 or (800) 326-4000. TV: Championship games on ESPNU Information: meacsports.comWINSTON-SALEM -- The N.C. A&T Aggies took care of business Wednesday in the MEAC women's basketball tournament. They earned their third win of the season over Howard, routing the Bison 80-52 in a quarterfinal at Joel Coliseum.
The Aggies (24-6) took control with a 16-3 run midway through the first half, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back 3-point shots by Ta'Wuana "Tweet" Cook.
"I thought they got a big push in the first half from Cook when she came in and knocked down those 3-pointers in the corner," said Howard coach Niki Geckler. "But we just take our hat off and say A&T played a great game."
The Aggies excelled in all phases of the game. They shot 49.1 percent from the floor, had 17 assists compared with nine turnovers and they converted 16 Bison turnovers into 27 points.
But for all the positives surrounding the game, A&T coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs was most pleased by the return of her injured players.
"I'm very happy that we got this game out of the way," Cage-Bibbs said. "More so I'm happy because we got Amber Bland and Jaleesa Sams back into the starting lineup. We played them sparingly, but they did a good job. I can only say good things about the bench."
Bland played 23 minutes and led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Brittanie Taylor-James and Cook each scored 14 points, with Cook coming off the bench to hit four of seven shots from beyond the arc.
"I feel good about the tournament," Cook said. "You're always supposed to have a spark off the bench. I felt that whether I start or come off the bench, I've got to be ready to play. I was open a lot today. Instead of hesitating to shoot, I caught it and let it go and it was falling, so I didn't stop."
With the early lead, Cage-Bibbs was able to give lots of minutes to her bench, which allowed the walking wounded to ease back into action while also keeping everyone sharp.
"(We have) about seven or eight boots walking around," said Cage-Bibbs, referring to the protective device injured players wear on their feet. "It's just a safety precaution. These kids play hard and they play for the whole 40 minutes, so you're going to have injuries. We just didn't expect to have this many."
While teammates have been falling around her, Taylor-James has had to carry more of the load for the Aggies. She did not need to score that many Wednesday, but she played a fine all-around game with six rebounds and a game-high six assists.
"Today I think we had a good game overall," Taylor-James said. "Every game my goal is to bring tenacity and be intense. I thought today we had really good energy."
Taylor-James is the MEAC Player of the Year, and the senior hopes to cap her career by bringing home the conference title that eluded her squad last year, when the Aggies came up two points short in the final.
"I believe in life when you get second chances it's very rare, so the second time you get that opportunity you have to take advantage of it," Taylor-James said. "We're on a mission. Today was a great win but that's just one down and two to go. Every day we look at that picture in the locker room of that last shot last year against Coppin State and that just really encourages us to come out here and give it our all."