LADY AGGIES LOSE HEARTBREAKER, GROUND IN MEAC

 

Before loss, Lady Aggies had won four out of last five on the road

 

DOVER, DEL., February 19, 2005 – The N.C. A&T women’s basketball team lost a crucial conference game in quest to claim a first-round bye in next month’s MEAC tournament.

Terrelle Waller hit a jumper with 17 seconds left to lift Delaware State to a 55-53 win over the Lady Aggies on Saturday. Delaware State won its eighth straight game to improve to 14-9 overall and 10-4 in the MEAC. North Carolina A&T fell to 7-16 and 6-8.

The loss pushes N.C. A&T into a tie for eighth place with Florida A&M. A win would have put the Lady Aggies a half-game out of the fifth spot.

“This is a tough one to swallow,’’ said N.C. A&T women’s coach Saudia Roundtree. “These are the kind of games you need to win if you want to take the next step in being an outstanding program. We haven’t learned how to take those steps yet.”

Shareka Glover led the Lady Aggies with 16 points. The Lady Aggies had the ball and a 53-52 lead, but Delaware State’s Ashlee Burbage stole the ball to set up Waller’s basket that gave the Hornets a 54-53 lead. After a timeout, Glover missed an off balanced jumper with four seconds left.

Delaware State’s Najmah Fauntleroy hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to close out the scoring. Fauntleroy led all players with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

 

LADY AGGIES FIGHT ADVERSITY, RALLY TO BEAT NORFOLK STATE

Junior guard Shareka Glover scores 16 second-half points

NORFOLK, Va., February 14, 2005 – N.C. A&T guard Shareka Glover clinched her stomach most of the second half in pain. Center Tia Richardson left the game with an injured hand. And the Lady Aggies have three other players out for the season with injuries.
Despite all the bad news, the Lady Aggies still has a chance to earn a bye in next month’s MEAC tournament. They took a step closer in that direction by overcoming a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Norfolk State 70-63 at Echols Hall.
The Lady Aggies improved to 7-15 overall and 6-7 in the MEAC as they remain a game out of a fifth place spot that will earn them a bye at the conference tournament in Richmond.
“I really don’t think these girls know how good they can be,’’ said N.C. A&T women’s basketball coach Saudia Roundtree, who is one win away from her career high in wins – eight. “I think that is why we keep coming out here and falling behind early. We don’t believe we’re a good basketball team yet. When they realize that, then we’re really going to take off.”
Monday night’s game marked the second time in three games the Aggies have overcome double-digit second-half deficits. Against Morgan State last Thursday, they came from 13 down in the second half to win by four.
An Areya Walker layup on Monday gave the Lady Spartans their biggest lead of the ball game at 41-26 with 17:04 remaining. The lead stood at 14 two minutes later until a Shareka Glover layup sparked a 9-0 Lady Aggies run to make it 45-40 with 13:02 to play.
“We had a feeling once we got to under 10 with more than 10 minutes still on the clock, we had a chance,’’ said Glover who finished with 21 points and four assists. Sixteen of her points came in the second half. “Our pressure was really getting to them.”
Glover, who took a shot to the stomach as she went for a loose ball early in the second half, made the gutsiest play of the night. She drove to the basket in pain and scored while being knocked down.
Glover completed the 3-point play to pull the Aggies to within four, 51-47. Two Yanumbe Sherman floaters in the lane and a LaKeisha Williams free throw gave the Aggies their first lead of the night with 7:18 remaining.
The two teams went back and forth for the next 5 ½ minutes. Glover drove to the basket to tie the game at 61. Latasha Watlington then stole the Lady Spartans’ inbounds pass and her missed layup was followed by Dawn Newsome for a two-point N.C. A&T lead.
Seconds later Newsome would earn the Lady Aggies second straight steal off of an inbounds and was fouled by Ashley Bowman. Newsome’s two free throws put the Aggies up four with 1:09 to play.
After Norfolk State’s Shalynn Leonard missed two point-blank layups, Lady Aggies forward Watlington grabbed her seventh rebound of the game and handed it off to Renee Porter. Porter sank two more Lady Aggie free throws to put the game away.
“The girls are getting a lesson in what I like to call character building,’’ Roundtree said. “We know we can fight back. Now we need to see if we can put together a complete game, a complete effort. That’s our next step in building the kind of character we want to display on the court.”
Tia Richardson left the game with a hand injury at the 3:45 mark of the second half. She finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Areya Walker led the Lady Spartans with 17 points.
The Lady Aggies are in action again on Saturday when they face Delaware State in Dover, Del., at 2 p.m. They return home on Feb. 26 to face Florida A&M at 2 p.m.

HAMPTON EASES BY LADY AGGIES

Lady Aggies’ road winning streak ends at three

HAMPTON, Va., February 12, 2005 – It finally caught up to the N.C. A&T women’s basketball team on Saturday.

The Lady Aggies have been without the post presence of Ashleigh Williams and Destiny Burroughs for several weeks. On Monday, they lost starter Malea Gibson to a knee injury bringing the injured reserve count for post players to three.

Their absences were glaring against the athletic and tall Hampton Lady Pirates. Hampton remained atop the MEAC, while knocking the Lady Aggies a step back from their goal of earning a first-round bye in the MEAC tournament with a 75-53 victory.

“We didn’t compete today,” N.C. A&T women’s basketball coach Saudia Roundtree said. “When you’re facing a team like Hampton who has the size advantage they have and you don’t compete, you make things that much harder and you end up with results like this.”

The Lady Pirates out-rebounded N.C. A&T 49-24 and shot 53 percent from the floor. They jumped out to a 26-10 lead thanks to the offensive rebounding of 6-foot-7 Hampton center Tiffani Williams and 6-1 teammate Monica Rogers.

The two low post Lady Pirates combined for 14 of the Lady Pirates 26 points. N.C. A&T would respond with a 9-0 run ignited by a Yanumbe Sherman 3-pointer, steal and layup.

Sharema Dean’s 3-pointer pushed the Lady Pirates lead back to double-figures at 10, a predicament the Lady Aggies never overcame. They trailed by 19 at the half and by as many as 28 in the second half.

“We win a couple of games and we think that’s all there is to it,’’ Roundtree said. “We have to bring it every night. Hopefully, we’re learning this lesson.”

Sherman led the Aggies with 13 points, while Shareka Glover and Kira Tillman added 11 points apiece. Rachel Butler led the Lady Pirates with 14 points and six rebounds, while Williams added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Dean ended the night with 13 points and seven boards.

The Lady Aggies are in action again on Monday night when they face Norfolk State in Norfolk, Va., at 5:30. They don’t return home again until Feb. 26 when they face Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m.

 

LADY AGGIES GRAB ANOTHER ROAD WIN

Richardson scores 14 points and grabs 10 boards on 5-for-6 shooting

GREENSBORO, N.C., February 10, 2005 – N.C. A&T women’s coach Saudia Roundtree was not fooled by Monday’s game.

Yes, her Lady Aggies won by 21 points on their way to a breaking the single-game scoring record. But in that game, the Lady Bears shot the ball well and scored quite a few points of their own.

On Thursday, Roundtree intuition proved right. The Lady Aggies had to overcome a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Morgan State 80-76. Shareka Glover led the Aggies with 23 points, while Tia Richardson added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“We scored a lot of points on Monday, but when I looked at the stat sheet everything was even,’’ Roundtree said. “I knew we were going to be in for a fight tonight.”

Morgan State’s Whitney Johnson sparked the Lady Bears early. Morgan State shot 59 percent in the first half and Johnson was the key reason. Johnson scored eight points and dished out two assists during a 13-0 run that gave the Lady Bears a 44-31 lead with 1:59 remaining in the first half.

When the ladies jogged in the locker room, the Lady Bears held a 48-36 lead and Johnson was 8-for-10 from the floor and had 18 points. She finished the night with 28 points.

 “She hit everything she put up,’’ Roundtree said. “We knew if we wanted to win this game we couldn’t allow her to keep getting easy looks at the basket.”

In the Lady Aggies 113-82 win on Monday that broke the school record for points in a game, Roundtree was disappointed in her team’s defensive effort. She finally received the effort she was looking for in the second half on Thursday.

The Lady Aggies trailed 71-58 with 7:13 remaining. Morgan State would collapse the rest of the way. Eight turnovers over the next six minutes helped the Lady Aggies score the next 17 points. Johnson cut the lead to two, 75-73, with 28 seconds remaining. Renee Porter left the door open for the Lady Bears as she hit one of two free throws to push the Aggies lead to three.

Richardson would rebound a Markeda Hollingsworth miss with 17 seconds to play. Richardson then knocked down two free throws to ice the game.

“We finally played some defense in that second half,’’ Roundtree said. “Whenever you can go on the road and rally the way we did, it’s huge. We got a big, big win tonight.”

The Lady Aggies held Morgan State to 30 percent shooting in the second half as they won their third straight road game. They improved to 6-14 overall, and 5-6 in the MEAC. The win puts the team within one game of fifth-place Howard in the race to avoid the MEAC Tournament play-in rounds. The Lady Aggies travel to Hampton, Va., to face the Lady Pirates on Saturday at 4 p.m.

LADY AGGIES CRUSH MORGAN STATE

N.C. A&T sets new team single-game scoring record with 113 points.

Greensboro, N.C., February 7, 2005 - There is an old adage that says defense wins championships. But on this night, the N.C. A&T offense took center stage, setting a school record in a 113-82 romp of Morgan State at the Corbett Sports Center.

For the first time this season, five Lady Aggies scored in double figures. Shareka Glover scored 29 points, including 17 in the first half, to lead all scorers. Yanumbe Sherman connected on five 3-pointers en route to 24 points. Renee Porter added 16 points, which included 12-of-16 from the free throw line. LaKeisha Williams (14 points) and LaTasha Watlington (10 points) keyed a 37-25 scoring advantage from the bench.

N.C. A&T (5-14, 4-6 MEAC) took control of the game with a 21-11 spurt midway through the first half, building its lead to as many as 14, 37-23, with 5:42 left. The teams went into the locker room with the Lady Aggies leading 52-39.

Morgan State (2-16, 1-10) got to within 10, 67-57, on a Sharonda Watson free throw with 12:48 remaining in the contest. But a 3-pointer by Sherman capped a 13-3 Lady Aggie run which pushed the lead to 84-64 with 7:17 to play.

The Lady Aggies continued to score, and when Tia Richardson put back her own miss with 23 seconds left, N.C. A&T had a new single-game scoring standard.

The 113 points broke the old record of 110 set against Bennett College in the 1983-84 season.

Head coach Saudia Roundtree was pleased with the offensive effort, but was concerned with her team allowing 82 points, nearly 30 above Morgan State's season average of 54.8.

"I was very pleased with what we were able to do on the offensive end," said Roundtree. "We attacked the basket, made good decisions, and most importantly, put the ball in the hole. Also, we did a great job rebounding the basketball."

"But I'm most concerned about our defense. We did not get back after we shot the basketball and gave up way too many layups. We can't afford to do that on Thursday, or even later in the conference schedule. Our team prides itself on defending the basket, so we've got to step it up as we go on the road this week." 

Javone Davis led Morgan State with 21 points, while Whitney Johnson added 11.

The two teams will meet again on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Baltimore, Md. 

COPPIN STATE ESCAPES WITH WIN OVER LADY AGGIES

Kira Tillman leads N.C. A&T with 14 points and nine rebounds

GREENSBORO, N.C., February 5, 2005 - N.C. A&T did everything it could to knock off MEAC leader Coppin State at the Corbett Sports Center on Saturday - except rebound.

Coppin State (14-6, 9-2 MEAC) missed five free throws in the final 16 seconds of play, but came up with four offensive rebounds to help run out the clock and seal a 55-53 victory. 

A layup by Tia Richardson gave N.C. A&T (4-14, 3-6 MEAC) a 53-52 lead with 1:20 remaining. But Coppin State's Denita Plain beat the defense down the floor for a layup, giving the Lady Eagles the lead.

With 16 seconds remaining, Plain missed the front end of a one-and one, but Talia Sutton beat everyone to the loose ball.

Sutton was fouled and missed the front-end of a one-and-one, but the ball caromed off N.C. A&T out of bounds.

The Lady Aggies then fouled Lakesha Wills, an 81 percent foul shooter coming into the game. Wills missed another front end opportunity, which allowed the Lady Aggies a chance to win.

Yanumbe Sherman missed a jumper, and Wills made one of two free throws for the final margin.

"We had an opportunity to win this game, bottomline," said head coach Saudia Roundtree. "We have to box out and come away with the ball when we rebound. We tipped the ball several times tonight and gave away some possessions. That's almost like a turnover."

Wills finished with 20 points and a game-high 18 rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles. Courtni Strickland added 17 points, including 15 in the second half.

Kira Tillman led N.C. A&T with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Sherman added 13 points. Malea Gibson scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds before suffering an injury in the second half.

The Lady Aggies will host Morgan State at 5:30 p.m. Monday night.

LADY HAWKS END N.C. A&T WINNING STREAK AT THREE

UMES outscores Lady Aggies 14-4 in OT

GREENSBORO, N.C., January 29, 2005 – Good practices lead to wins. Bad practices lead to losses. It’s a philosophy N.C. A&T women’s basketball coach Saudia Roundtree believes in, and her eyes it proved true on Saturday afternoon.

Maryland-Eastern Shore rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to down the Lady Aggies 85-75 in overtime. Last week’s MEAC Player of the Week Shareka Glover led the Lady Aggies with 22 points and six rebounds. Yanumbe Sherman added 16 points off four 3-pointers, but was just 5-for-15 from the floor. The UMES win ends the Aggies longest winning streak – three games – in five years.

UMES was led by Toni Kennedy’s 21 points. Ashley Chase added 20 points, while Jamila Griffith turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“We gave the game away,’’ Roundtree said. “We won three straight games and we thought that was pretty much it. You could tell it in practice this week, and it showed when we stepped out here on the floor. We have to get the girls to understand we are in the thick of conference race. We have a month to go plus the tournament, so we have to come out prepared every night.”

The Lady Aggies fell to 4-13 overall, and 3-5 in the MEAC. UMES improved to 6-11 overall, and 5-4 in the MEAC.

After a short Tia Richardson jumper gave the Lady Aggies a 38-37 lead going into the locker room at the half, N.C. A&T extended its lead to 54-42 in the second half thanks to a 16-5 run led by Glover.

Turnovers and UMES’ effectiveness on the boards helped the Lady Hawks cut into the lead. A Toni Kennedy 3-pointer with 3:18 remaining in regulation gave UMES its first lead in more than 15 minutes at 65-64.

The Lady Hawks built their lead to as much as four – 71-67 –with 1:17 remaining, but two Renee Porter free throws and a Glover jumper forced overtime.

From there, however, the Lady Hawks took over. After a Glover steal and basket cut the Lady Hawks lead to two, 75-73, three Aggie turnovers and a missed layup helped UMES score the next eight points to put the game away.

“We’re OK. We have to figure out a way to win some home games,” said Roundtree following a loss that dropped the Lady Aggies home record to 2-5. “You’re supposed to protect your house.”

The Lady Aggies return home to face Coppin State on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.

GLOVER NAMED MEAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

GREENSBORO, N.C., January 26, 2005  –  Guard Shareka Glover, a 5-3 junior from Landover, Md., was named the MEAC Player of the Week leading the Lady Aggies to a 2-0 week.

Glover averaged a double-double during the two victories, posting averages of 16.5 points and 11.5 assists for the two games.  She scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half to lead N.C. A&T to a 78-74 victory over Howard on Jan. 17. Glover followed that with 10 points and 14 assists in an 80-77 overtime victory at Florida A&M on Jan. 22.

Glover is the only player in the MEAC this season to register a double-double involving assists this season and leads the MEAC with a 4.9 assists average. She also ranks fourth in steals with a 2.9 average. She is the team's third leading scorer, averaging 9.8 points. 

Glover played a key role in Monday night's 81-70 victory against Bethune-Cookman, scoring nine points and handing out eight assists in the win. 

N.C. A&T is currently on a three-game winning streak, the program's first in five years. The Lady Aggies will host Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Corbett Sports Center.

Lady Aggies Cruise to Third Straight Victory

N.C. A&T holds B-CC without a field goal for nine minutes in second half.

Daytona Beach, Fla. – January 22, 2005 – The Lady Aggies completed a Florida sweep on Monday with a convincing 81-70 win over Bethune-Cookman at Moore Gymnasium. 

With the shadow of Florida A&M’s 22-point rally on Saturday night behind them, the Lady Aggies made sure Bethune-Cookman never rallied.

N.C. A&T put B-CC away with a 14-5 run midway through the second half, as the Lady Aggies defense held the Lady Wildcats without a field goal over a span of 9:09.  Bethune-Cookman missed all eight field goal attempts and committed four turnovers during the drought.

After a pair of free throws by Cassandra Calcagno brought B-CC (3-11, 2-6 MEAC) within 61-58 with 11:40 remaining, Kira Tillman responded for N.C. A&T (4-12, 3-4 MEAC) with a pair of free throws and a jumper. After a Bethune-Cookman free throw, Renee Porter made two free throws and Yanumbe Sherman hit a 3-pointer for a 70-61 lead with 7:43 left. Sherman later added another 3-pointer for a 76-64 lead with 2:09 left, sealing the victory for the Lady Aggies.

“We finally held a lead,” said head coach Saudia Roundtree, who had led the Lady Aggies on their first three-game winning streak since the 1999-2000 season.  “There have been times this season when we played solid defense but didn’t execute offensively or vice versa. We were able to put it all together tonight. This winning streak is what we need to have some confidence going into the second half of the season.”

For the second straight game, the Lady Aggies recorded more assists than turnovers, 18-to-16. They also won the rebounding battle by a 40-32 margin.

Tillman led all scorers with 22 points as she surpassed her season high for the second straight night. Center Tia Richardson scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Following a record-setting performance in which she hit nine 3-pointers, Sherman finished with 12 points off of four 3-pointers.

Sarah Johnson led Bethune-Cookman with 18 points and seven rebounds. Calcagno finished with 15 points, while Katie Clark added 11 points.  

Lady Aggies Hold Off Towns, Florida A&M

Yanumbe Sherman has career night with 29 points and a school record nine 3-pointers.

Tallahassee, Fla. – January 22, 2005 – It seemed that N.C. A&T had lost all hope after squandering a 22-point lead to Florida A&M, which forced an overtime period. But all hope was not lost. In fact, the Lady Aggies put their faith in a play that worked all night – a baseline screen for guard Yanumbe Sherman.

Sherman hit a N.C. A&T record nine 3-pointers (9-for-10 from 3-point range) thanks to the reliable play, and finished with 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting to lead the Lady Aggies to an 80-77 overtime win. The Lady Aggies hit a school-record 14 3-pointers, going 14-for-23 from 3-point range (60.9 percent) for the game.

Lady Rattler forward Ariel Towns had scored 28 points in the second half, including the game-tying basket with no time remaining. 

Towns helped the Rattlers take a 77-74 with 1:45 left to play in overtime, and then N.C. A&T head coach Saudia Roundtree called on the baseline screen.

Sherman took a dribble and hit a pull-up jumper, then buried her record a three on the ensuing possession to give the Lady Aggies a 79-77 lead.

N.C. A&T guard Renee Porter pressured FAMU forward Quedara Russell into a turnover, then hit one of two free throws for a three-point lead. Towns had one last shot, a 50-footer that hit the front end of the rim and bounced away.

The win, the first road victory of the season, marked back-to-back victories for the first time since Jan. 7 and 10 of last season when the Lady Aggies defeated Charleston Southern and Maryland-Eastern Shore, respectively.  N.C. A&T also snapped a seven-game road losing streak dating back to the season opener at Charlotte.

Sherman hit on all five of her 3-point attempts in the first half to lead N.C. A&T (3-12, 2-4 MEAC) to a 40-28 halftime lead. Shareka Glover finished the night with 10 points and 14 assists to record her second double-double of the season, and Kira Tillman added 18 points and nine rebounds, which were both season highs.

“We talked about coming out strong in the first half,” said Roundtree. “We have been finishing on a good note all season. If we gave as much effort in the first 20 minutes as we do in the second, we would be a great team.”

Towns almost single-handedly led the Lady Rattler comeback, scoring 17 points over the next 11 minutes. She hit a jumper that brought FAMU (5-10, 3-4 MEAC) within 70-66 with 2:11 left. After a Q’Vanda Curry layup made the score 70-68, Towns and Tene’ Miller double-teamed Sherman, forcing a loose ball. Miller picked up the steal and shot a 3-pointer that would have won the game in regulation. The ball caromed off the left side into Towns’ hands. She put the rebound in the basket just as the buzzer sounded, completing the FAMU rally.

“We did everything we could to stop [Towns],” said Roundtree. “She just willed her team all the way back. I think we played well defensively, but we got cold and she didn’t miss. Fortunately for us, we had a hot player, too.”