The North Carolina A&T women's basketball team was playing a very good team with excellent credentials after said team defeated several big-name schools over the first two months of the season. The Aggies were also playing on the road in a hostile environment.

Big deal.

Those are the odds the Aggies have been playing with all season long. A 25-for-30 night at the free throw line propelled the Aggies to a 79-72 win over Florida A&M Saturday night at the newly-built Al Lawson Center.

Freshman JaQuayla Berry led the Aggies with 16 points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Senior guard Tweet Cook added 13 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the free throw line.

“My young ladies showed me what they are made of tonight,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs, who has watched the Aggies play 13 of their first 14 games away from Corbett Sports Center. “I have to give Florida A&M credit; they brought the best out of us tonight. We had to be a focused team tonight. They needed to listen to instructions in order to beat a team like this. And they really listened and focused in tonight.”

The Rattlers (8-4, 1-1 MEAC) are as good as advertised. The Aggies were picked to win the conference, but perhaps the Rattlers started to change a few minds after they opened the season with wins over South Florida, Florida and Alabama. The Rattlers' good-looking list of opponents also included a four-point loss at Missouri.  

After keeping that kind of company, it's easy to see why the Rattlers came in with a little swagger against the defending MEAC Champions. But N.C .A&T (7-7, 2-0 MEAC) still possessed veteran players who realize what it takes to win a championship. Combine that with the freshman guard combo of Berry and Calvin, and the Aggies had enough to hold off the talented Rattlers.

“I'm proud of my freshmen because they don't get flustered,'' said Bibbs. “They didn't make too many mistakes tonight. I think with the schedule we've played, they grew up fast. That's going to be a good thing for us.”

The Aggies fell down early, but a 17-3 run aided by eight points from Calvin and four points from freshman Nikia Gorham gave the Aggies a 40-32 lead going into halftime. That lead went to 11 when junior Jaleesa Sams converted a 3-point play. But in a span of three minutes that lead was gone.

Christian Rateree hit three 3-pointers during a 15-0 Rattlers run that gave Florida A&M a 47-43 lead. The Rattlers didn't relinquish the lead until a Berry 3-pointer and jump shot gave N.C. A&T 63-60 lead with 4:32 to play. From there, the Aggies hit 10 of 12 free throws over the final 4 ½ minutes of the game to secure the win.

“The only place we've been is on the road,'' said Bibbs, who has not played a home game since Dec. 1. “We told them that this road game will be a little different. The idea is that this is conference. This is more intense. There is a lot more at stake. Despite all of that my young ladies didn't fold. I'm proud of them.”

Rateree and Qiana Donald had 19 points apiece for the Rattlers. Donald added 13 rebounds and guard LaShonda Gaines had 11 points and eight assists. The Aggies will play on the road again Monday when they face Bethune-Cookman at 5:30 p.m.