BALTIMORE, Md. - Many would argue that Amber Bland was the best player to ever put on a North Carolina A&T women's basketball uniform. Brittanie Taylor-James won the 2008-09 MEAC Player of the Year award.
The Aggies lost them both to graduation. Therefore, head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs wonders who really believed the Aggies could win their third straight MEAC regular-season crown.
Well, if those people she is wondering about didn't believe at the start of the 2009-10 season, they believe now. Behind a career-high 33 points from senior Ta'Wuana "Tweet" Cook, the Aggies defeated Coppin State 72-53 at the Physical Education Center to clinch the MEAC regular-season crown for the third consecutive season.
This marks the second time the Aggies have won three straight regular-season titles. They did the same from 1987-1990.
"I know people picked us to win it, but we were hearing a lot through the grapevine that people thought we were vulnerable,'' said Bibbs. "People really didn't believe we could pull this off because we didn't have our big guns coming back. I treasure all three titles, but I appreciate this one a little more because we've gone through a lot as a team this year, but the ladies hung tough, and we got it done."
The Aggies are on track to end the regular season in the same fashion they've ended the previous two. The Aggies improved to 20-8 overall and 13-1 in the MEAC. Two more wins will give the Aggies the same conference win total they've had in each of the previous two seasons.
N.C. A&T did this despite injuries to Cook, starting forward Jaleesa Sams, starting center Lamona Smalley and key reserve Tyronnica Alford. The Aggies have a team of players who are versatile enough to play several different roles, which is why injuries haven't hampered the season.
"We've had tremendous play from our seniors,'' said Bibbs. "But we've also managed to get everyone involved. You make it difficult on teams when they don't know who to stop from game to game."
In the first half of Saturday's game, it was Cook who couldn't be stopped. Cook posted 26 first-half points, including six 3-pointers. After Coppin State's Crystal Whittington scored on a layup to slice the Aggies lead to 20-19 at the 6:35 mark of the second half. Cook scored seven of the Aggies next 12 points to give the Aggies a 32-19 lead with 3:19 remaining in the first half.
N.C. A&T led by 13 at the half and grew that lead to 18 in the second. The Eagles chopped the lead to 60-51 with 3:31 remaining. But Sams went 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win. In the game, Tweet became just the second player in school history to go over 1,600 points in a career. She also replaced Bland for second on the Aggies all-time scoring list.
"Tweet was in a zone in that first half,'' said Bibbs. "She has been hurt all week, but the one thing I've learned about Tweet, when you need her to come through, she will come through."
The Aggies will continue play in the MEAC on Monday when they face Morgan State on the road at 6:30 p.m. The Aggies return home on Thursday, March 4 to play their regular-season finale against Norfolk State at 6 p.m. It will be Senior Night for Shantar Waddell, Alford, Smalley and Cook.
The Aggies will open the MEAC Tournament as the No. 1 on Wednesday, March 10 when they face the No. 8 or No. 9 seed at 12:30 p.m., from Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
