After having a two week break between games, the North Carolina A&T made the most of the time off with a 72-54 win over Campbell, Saturday afternoon at the newly opened John W. Pope Convocation Center.
Ta’Wuana Cook led the way for the Aggies with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals on 8-for-15 shooting. Cook is now 63 points shy of scoring 1,000 points for her career. Brittanie Taylor-James led all scorers with 21 points, and Lamona Smalley recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I was real interested in seeing how we were going to play after two weeks,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “They exceeded my expectation because when you’re just playing against each other you really can’t see how you’re progressing. But having these two weeks told me sometimes you need some rest just to get your people back healthy.”
The last two weeks helped the Aggies get starting forward Jaleesa Sams back in the lineup along with guard Reisha Bullock. Both players missed the Aggies last game with injuries. “I probably played people more than I normally would because people like Jaleesa needed the minutes,’’ said Bibbs. “It was great to see everyone come out ready to play.”
N.C. A&T showed some effects of a two-week break. The Camels were able to put together 10 unanswered points to take 29-22 lead over the Aggies at the 4:57 mark of the first half. Campbell Ashley Williamson led the way for the Camels with 14 first-half points.
With less than two minutes remaining in the half, however, the Aggies began to put their pressure defense into full gear. The Aggies ended the half with a Taylor-James 3-pointer and layup to tie the game at 36 going into the locker room.
There was not a let up from the Aggies in the second half. The Camels had more second-half turnovers (14) than they had second-half field goals (8). Twenty of the Aggies’ 36 points in the second half came off of turnovers.
N.C. A&T began to benefit from its excellent defense five minutes into the second half. An Amber Bland jump shot sparked a 10-1 Aggies run that put them up 53-43 with 12:54 to play. Three minutes later, a Sams 3-point play gave the Aggies a 59-47 lead. The Camels couldn’t push the lead under 10 the rest of the way as the Aggies improved to 5-3 with their fifth win in six games.
“I knew we wouldn’t be as sharp as we could be after two weeks,’’ said Bibbs. “But once we picked up the pace and made them play a style they didn’t want to play, they had trouble making shots.”
The Aggies will take another week-and-half off from competition for the Christmas holiday before competing in the Virginia Tech Invitational on Dec. 29-30.