“Jaleesa Sams, Ta'Wuana Cook, Tyronnica Alford, Amber Calvin, Lamona Smalley,'' Bibbs uttered in the Aggies locker room.

She wasn't exactly calling the role to see if those Lady Aggies were present. She was running down the list of players who helped the Aggies go an impressive 25-for-27 from the free throw line. The Aggies needed every last freebie they got as a determined S.C. State team that game into the game without a win in the MEAC gave the Aggies (11-7, 6-0 MEAC) all they could handle.

“We practice so diligently on free throws,'' said Bibbs who has seen her team hit 20 or more free throws six times this season. “We know free throws are ballgame winners. When you have a target on your back like we do, free throws make all the difference. It's one thing to say you hit free throws, it's another thing to say you hit clutch free throws.”

Senior forward Lamona Smalley, who was 3-for-3 from the line on Saturday, hit two free throws to give the Aggies a 57-55 with 2:16 remaining. After a JaQuayla Berry jumper in the lane gave the Aggies a two-point lead. Ta'Wuana Cook then stole the in-bound pass and after two Aggie misses, Amber Calvin swooped in and scored on a reverse layup. She was fouled on the play and converted her only free throw of the game, which led to her being put on the list.

 “Amber is a franchise-type point guard,'' said Bibbs about the freshman out of Fayetteville, N.C., who finished with 11 points. “She got the job done for us.”

The Aggies grabbed a nine-point lead early in the second half. But the Bulldogs (5-12, 0-5 MEAC) went on a 14-5 run to take a 41-40 lead with 12:19 remaining in the game. Things got really tight when Whitney Wiley grabbed a defensive board and went coast-to-coast for a runner in the lane that gave S.C. State a 48-45 lead with 7:03 remaining.

The Bulldogs still held a lead as late as the three-minute mark of the second half before two Jaleesa Sams free throws and Smalley's free throws turned the game in N.C. A&T's favor. 

“Well a lot of times the young ladies we'll see that 0-4 and it will fool them,'' said Bibbs. “You still have to play the game no matter what their record is. They are a scrappy team, but we showed a little savvy late in the game that helped us pull through. We had the big three late in the game, which is rebounding, playing good defense and knocked down free throws. As long as we're doing that we're going to win more than we lose.”

The Aggies will play arch-rival Winston-Salem State Monday night at 5:30 from LJVM. S.C. State was led by Wiley's 20 points and seven rebounds.