A&T coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs wins her 500th game
SAVANNAH, Ga.-North Carolina A&T women's basketball head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs became the 51st head coach to join the all-time NCAA Division I 500 win club on Monday, as the Aggies defeated Savannah State by a 88-74 final at Tiger Arena. She ranks 27th on the active Division I wins list with 500.
Bibbs' career record is 500-292. To get to 500 has meant a lot of hard work for Bibbs over her 27 years as a head coach at a DI historically black university.
Bibbs is now the first head coach to win all 500 games as the head coach of a Division I HBCU program, and she will be the second MEAC coach to join the 500 club, after Norfolk State's James Sweat. Bibbs became the 38th active head women's basketball coach to capture 400 career wins during the 2007-08 season. She won No. 400 on Nov. 23, 2007 with an 88-62 victory over UNC Asheville in her third season with the Aggies.
Redshirt sophomore Amber Calvin secured the win for the Aggies, posting a career-high 33 points along with three rebounds and three assists to put her at 102 for the season. It marked the eighth time in program history that a player has posted 100 or more assists in a season. She went 13-for-13 from the free throw line, and had four 3-pointers in the contest.
Savannah State had four ladies in double digits. Ezinne Kalu led with 26 points and 8 rebounds, while Jasmine Kirkland added 18. Uba Blessing and Zadous Pollard each tacked on 11.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Lady Pirates Clinch Top Seed With Win Over Bethune-Cookman
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -Hampton clinched the top seed in the 2012 MEAC Basketball Tournament on Monday, defeating Bethune-Cookman 54-30 at the Moore Gymnasium.
The Lady Pirates (22-4, 14-1 MEAC) picked up their seventh straight win overall, as well as their seventh straight road win. With a win on Thursday at North Carolina Central, Hampton will clinch its second straight MEAC regular-season title.
Senior guard Jericka Jenkins led the Lady Pirates with 17 points, while junior forward Keiara Avant, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, added 12 points and a team-high 16 rebounds for her third straight double-double.
Ten of Avant's 16 rebounds came in the first half, and she grabbed seven boards on the offensive end, helping Hampton gain a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett added 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting. By scoring nine points, senior guard Choicetta McMillian is just nine points shy of 1,000 for her career.
McMillian would be the 23rd Lady Pirate ever to reach that milestone.
Six of Bethune-Cookman's 18 second-half points came at the free throw line.
Bethune-Cookman (10-17, 7-8 MEAC) shot just 22.9 percent (11-for-48) from the floor, missing all seven of its 3-pointers - the second time this season Hampton has held an opponent without a field goal from behind the arc.
Demetria Frank led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.bcuathletics.com
Coppin State Defeats UMES, 48-47
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- Sophomore Ashle Craig scored on a layup with 18 seconds remaining in regulation lifting Coppin State to a 48-47 MEAC victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday in the WP Hytche Center.
With the Eagles trailing 47-46, Leola Spotwood stole the ball and then Craig scored giving Coppin State a 48-47 lead.
After a Maryland Eastern Shore timeout, Crystal Whittington blocked a game-winning attempt by Kwinnyata Mercer with 4 seconds to play.
The Eagles survived despite shooting just 28.3 percent from the floor to improve to 17-11 overall and 12-3 in the MEAC.
Whittington led Coppin State with nine points and nine rebounds, while Jeanine Manley and Spotwood each added eight points.
Maryland Eastern Shore (10-17, 7-8 MEAC) was led by Chelsea Sanders and Mercer who each had 14 points.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.umeshawks.com
SC State Women Defeat NC Central 68-57
ORANGEBBURG, SC - Paris Alston tossed in 21 points, seldom-used Christiana Perkins came off the bench for 13 and Tiara Knotts added 10 to lead SC State to a 68-57 victory over visiting NC Central Monday night in a MEAC at S-H-M Memorial Center.
The Lady Bulldogs, who got a team-high seven boards from senior Tracey Flowers who also had four points, snapped a three-game losing streak with the win and climbed to 12-14 overall and 7-8 in the MEAC.
The Lady Eagles were led by Lakisha Evans with 15 points and Blaire Houston with 13. Chasidy Williams contributed nine points and an equal number of rebounds in the loss, which dropped NC Central to 3-25 and 1-14 in the MEAC.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.scsuathletics.com
HAWKINS' DOUBLE DOUBLE LEADS DSU OVER MSU IN OVERTIME
DOVER, Del. - It took overtime, but Delaware State prevailed, 67-60, over Morgan State for the second time this season as redshirt freshman Tierra Hawkins led all scorers with 18 points and 14 rebounds at Memorial Hall Monday evening.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Lady Bears held an 11 point lead that the Lady Hornets immediately cut and eventually tied things up to force overtime.
A 3-pointer from freshman Alexis Thornton tied things at 53-53 at the 1:48 mark before Omara Parker knocked down her own trey to give Morgan State a 56-53 lead. The Lady Bears were still up by three with 33-seconds left in the game before sophomore Tasia Bristow drained a three from the left corner to tie things at 58-58 with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Bristow took the overtime tip and turned it into an immediate layup. The guard proved to be clutch during the extra period as she scored six points in overtime, four coming off of free throws.
The Lady Hornets held Morgan State to just two points in the extra minutes, a layup from Amarah Williams at the 4:28 mark. The Lady Bears went 1-for-7 from the field and 0-of-2 from the charity stripe en route to their eighth straight loss of the season.
Hawkins was joined in double figures by Thornton and Bristow, who each tallied 12 points of their own. Thornton's 12 points sets a new career-high. The guard previously recorded eight points three times this season. Bristow also posted five steals and four assists in the victory.
Sophomore Uchechi Ahaiwe contributed 10 rebounds, tying a career-best set in a win over Wesley College on Nov 15, and three blocked shots, which ties a career-best that was set at North Carolina Central on Jan. 28.
The Lady Bears were led in scoring by Dekisha Mathis' 16 points while Amarah Williams recorded a double double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Omara Parker contributed 12 points in the loss for Morgan State.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.morganstatebears.com