After a three gamed road trip, the Lady Aggies return to Greensboro with a 60-33 win over their rival, North Carolina Central University.
After a three gamed road trip, the Lady Aggies return to Greensboro with a 60-33 win over their rival, North Carolina Central University.
The Lady Aggies are now ranked third in the MEAC and have a winning record of 10-3 in the conference and 18-8 overall. Last season, the Lady Aggies were 9-16 in conference and 15-31 overall.
The Lady Aggies have improved on defense this season. Last season, the Lady Aggies were ranked 11th in scoring defense. They are now ranked second. “[Defense is] going to be the difference of winning the championship,” said head coach Tarrell Robinson.
Moving in rank from fifth last season to second this season, the Lady Aggies have also improved their scoring margin.
Last season they were ranked third in field goal percentages and now they are ranked number one.
All of the improvements the ladies have made this season fuel them as they enter the MEAC tournament.
Offensively, the Lady Aggies prevailed in both the first and second half against NCCU.
Although the Lady Aggies allowed their opponent to gain a two point lead early in first half, they took control of the ball and managed to obtain a lead.
The Lady Aggies were also able to field two 6-0 runs. During the first run, efforts were made by junior guard Tracy King, senior guard JaQuayla Berry, and freshman forward Eboni Ross, giving the ladies a 11 point lead. With two free throws, and two lay ups, Ross was able to field the second run, further advancing the team over NCCU by 18 points. Points in the paint also played a dominant factor in the first half as the Lady Aggies outscored NCCU 20-6.
In the second half, the offensive momentum continued for the Lady Aggies. As much as their rival’s team tried to fight back, the Lady Aggies were able to maintain their lead.
With a layup by sophomore guard Jessica Lyons, a shot from beyond the arch by sophomore guard Ariel Bursey, and a layup from Ross, the Lady Aggies were able to field a 7-0 run. This run allowed a 28 point lead. The leading scorers for the Lady Aggies were Berry with 13 points and Ross with 18.
Defense seemed to be the same important factor in this as well as previous victories for the ladies.
“It’s been a transition getting them to understand that ‘D’ is better than ‘O,’ stated Robinson. The Lady Aggies made defensive stops early in the game, which allowed the ladies to take the lead and take the home crowd out of the game early. “If we can get the crowd out of it we pretty much upset the team and pretty much get an easy victory,” said Berry.
With 10 rebounds, Ross again proved to be a great presence for the Lady Aggies defensively. She also had three blocks and three steals.
According to Robinson, Ross has done a lot for the team in reference to offense and defense and has also been great at giving the team a solid inside presence.
“She’s a heck of a shot blocker, so she makes people think before they dribble drive attack to the basket,” said Robinson.
Next, the Lady Aggies will take on the team that ended their 6 game winning streak, S.C. State.
However, this time S.C. State will be in the Corbett Sports Center versus their home gym. “They beat us in their place, we’re going to try and beat them in ours,” said Robinson.
According to Berry, the team has to play harder next game and fix some of the little things they did not do in this game against NCCU like boxing out, allowing teams to get second and third chances and taking care of the ball.
“[We have] Got to stay focused and pretty much build off this game,” said Berry.
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- Uniqua Quillins, Register Reporter