ORANGEBURG, S.C. - Senior Jaleesa Sams was perplexed by the question. She made perhaps the two biggest plays of the game in North Carolina A&T's 77-71 win over S.C. State Saturday afternoon at the S-H-M Memorial Center.
With one second left on the shot clock, Sams banked in a short jumper from the baseline to give N.C. A&T a 71-66 lead with 33 seconds remaining. Seconds later she took the ball from S.C. State's Whitney Wiley and was fouled. She hit two free throws to clinch the win.
But when asked what she thought about the play, she simply treated the two occurrences as standard.
"I think every possession in the game is big," said Sams, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots. "Any steal, any basket or any assists is important to me. Every play in the game adds up to what happens in the end."
Her answer was not the typical answer of a player who just led her team to a key road win. But Sams has never let the moment overwhelm her. She takes an emotional approach to the game, which is revealed when things aren't going well. But it is that same passion that has helped her bounce back from the numerous nagging injuries she sustained over her career.
One can say it also it is why she was able to rebound from one of the worst games of her career. On Monday night, Sams scored just three points in a home loss to conference-leader Hampton. "I just feel like I was frustrated the other night," said Sams. "I didn't let the game come to me. I wasn't rushing today. I just took what the defense gave me."
It was evident early on she was not going to let the Hampton game affect her on Saturday as she hit her first two 3-pointers of the game.
"When Jaleesa does the things she did tonight, we win," said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. "We've got to have her doing these things every night. If she doesn't do it every night, it's hard for us to win."
Sams received some assistance. Freshmen Mikala Scott and Tracy King had 16 points apiece and King added eight rebounds. The win puts the Aggies ½ game behind Morgan State and Florida A&M for the No. 2 spot in the MEAC, the place the Aggies were predicted to finish in the preseason.
Sams has never had anything less than a MEAC regular-season championship. She has never won fewer than 20 games in a season. Those will be hard to get this season, but until the MEAC Tournament comes, there are still goals to be met.
"Our last few games are real big," said Sams, whose team improved to 12-12 overall and 8-5 in the MEAC. "We wanted to win the conference, but if we win the rest of them it puts us in second, which is a big deal to us."
The Aggies travel to Durham to play N.C. Central in a non-conference game Monday night. Trinese Fox led the Bulldogs with 15 points and six rebounds. Tiana Hemphill added 12.
