WINSTON-SALEM - In the midst of rebuilding the North Carolina A&T women's basketball program, Aggies head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs has become an inspiration to others.
In an attempt to knock the Aggies off the perch they reached from 2007-10, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has become tremendously competitive. The competitive monster the Aggies helped to create came back to bite them again.
For the second straight year, the Aggies were upset by a lower seed in the MEAC Tournament. Howard, the No. 6 seed, overcame a 22-point first-half deficit to defeat the third-seeded Aggies 82-72 Thursday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
"There are no easy games in this league," said Bibbs. "Coaches have done a really good job of building their programs. Almost every game is a dogfight. Howard has a young and exciting team that hit big shots today."
Bibbs' own team challenged her theory on easy games over the first 14 minutes of the game. N.C. A&T hit 10 of their first 13 shots to take a 36-14 lead, while turning the ball over only three times. After seeing the Aggies convert offensively, Howard decided the strategy of not missing shots was good one.
The Bison went on a 17-0 run that was capped off by a Saadia Doyle 3-pointer. The Aggies gathered themselves and outscored the Bison 7-2 over the final 2 ? minutes of the half as freshman Mikala Scott hit a runner at the buzzer to give the Aggies a 43-33 halftime lead.
"We were hitting everything," said Bibbs. "Things were going great. Then I thought we got a little comfortable. We gave them a little opening, and sometimes that's all it takes.
The Bison used the trio of Tamoria Holmes, Cheyenne Curley-Payne and Doyle to gain confidence throughout the second half. Doyle finished with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds. Holmes had 26 on 10-for-14 shooting and Curley-Payne finished with 16.
The Bison shot 70 percent in the second half, and opened the final 20 minutes by hitting 7 of 9 shots to tie the game at 53. Doyle gave the Bison the crucial edge it needed with 1:04 to play as he drove to the basket, scored and drew a foul from Jaleesa Sams. Doyle completed the 3-point play to give the Bison a 79-72 lead.
"They switched and went to a (man-to-man defense)," said first-team All-MEAC guard Jaquayla Berry. "We were able to find the gaps and make the extra pass in their 2-3 zone. But their man was much more aggressive and we stop hitting shots."
Berry and Reisha Bullock had 13 apiece for the Aggies. Scott led the Aggies with 17 points off the bench. In her final collegiate game, Sams finished with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists. Sams finishes her career with 1,182 points and 698 rebounds. Reisha Bullock and Lillian Bullock also saw their careers come to an end. As a team, the Aggies finished 15-14.
Despite the two consecutive first-round losses, the Aggies return a team that should be considered a favorite in the MEAC next season. The Aggies will not have a senior on next year's team, Berry and starting center Nikia Gorham will return as juniors and freshmen such as Tracy King, Scott (MEAC All-Rookie team), Sabre Proctor, Lamesha Deal, Alishia Mosley and DeAndra Davis earned valuable playing time this season.
In addition, Bibbs should get point guard Amber Calvin back in the lineup next season after the sophomore missed the 2010-11 season with a knee injury.
