She comes into her senior season as the undisputed leader on the Lady Aggies basketball team...Named to the MEAC's preseason second-team going into the 2010-11 season...It marked the second straight season she was named to the preseason second-team...Over the first three years of her career, she played with all-time great players in the program, so she willingly played a secondary role...This season, she is the most experienced player on the Aggies roster...Sams continues to close in on 1,000 points for her career, needing 147 points going into the 2010-11 season...Head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs says it is vitally important that Sams stays healthy this season...Bibbs calls her a complete player who can run the floor, rebound, defend and finish around the basket... She runs the floor like a guard and has the size to play in the post... She is strong enough to play power forward and athletic enough to play shooting guard or small forward...Has played in 85 of the 100 games the Aggies have played since she arrived as various injuries forcing her to miss action...Sams showcased early what she can bring to the N.C. A&T women's basketball program with an excellent freshman season that saw her earn a spot on the MEAC All-Rookie team...She earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors once... At the time, Sams was the highest rated high school recruit to sign with the women's basketball program at North Carolina A&T...Sams was ranked as high as No. 31 in the nation among high school prospects by Scouts.com...Over her career she has scored 853 points, grabbed 506 rebounds, recorded 163 steals and dished out 170 assists...She is a career .465 shooter from the field and .644 shooter from the free throw line...She has scored in double figures 47 times, and has six career double-doubles.
2009-10 Season: Played in 29 games with 26 starts last season...Averaged 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 28.6 minutes per game...Shot .477 from the field and .731 (career-best) from the free throw line...Her 145 free throw attempts led the team...Scored in double figures 18 times...Earned second-team All-MEAC honors at season's end...Missed five games with various injuries...Started to develop into a solid passer as a junior...Led the team in assists seven times...Prior to the 2009-10 season, she had only led the Aggies in assists twice over the first two years of her career...Recorded two double-doubles on the season, and led the team in scoring five times...Scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds on 6-for-6 shooting from the free throw line and 9-for-12 shooting from the floor to lead the Aggies to an 88-62 win over Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 11...Followed that performance by scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting in a 79-69 win over Howard on Jan. 16...Named MEAC Player of the Week on Jan. 18...Scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Hampton on Feb. 15...Finished the season with a 20-point, nine-rebound performance against Miami in the WNIT on March 25.
High School Career: Considered the best player in Western Pennsylvania over the last three years of her career...Played varsity basketball for four years at New Castle under head coach Luann Grybowski...Recorded five triple-doubles as a senior, including a game in which she scored 27 points, 15 rebounds and 10 steals to go along with five assists...In a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League playoff game, she scored 23 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and had eight steals...As a senior, she averaged 19.0 points per game and led New Castle to the WPIAL Class 4A championship game...Played well in the game despite having a knee injury...As a four-year varsity starter, Sams scored 1,909 points...As a junior she averaged 19.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.0 steals, 4.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game...She was named the Pittsburgh Tribune Review player of the Year, the Lawrence County Female Athlete of the Year and for three straight seasons she was named to the WPIAL section 3-4A MVP...She is also a two-time Associated Press PIAA first-team performer.
Personal: Full name is Jaleesa Nicole Sams...She is the daughter of Donna Sams...She has one sibling, Ray...She was born on March 2, 1989...Sams is a sports science/physical therapy major.
