On Monday night the North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies defeated their arch rival Winston Salem State 79-53 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum stretching their winning streak in the I-40 battle to 14 straight games.

The Aggies used a fierce 53 percent shooting performance to aid them in a series that they own. They also held the Rams to shooting only 38 percent from the field.  Ta’Wuana Cook led A&T with 15 points. Amber Calvin added 14 while Lamona Smalley recorded 12 points and seven rebounds. Vontisha Woods and MaLisa Bumpus led the Rams scorers with 15 points apiece.

A&T got off to a quick start leading the Rams 13-3 in the early minutes of the game. TheRams used a 12-4 run just above the eight minute mark in the first half to get back in the game. But the Aggies offense proved too much for the Rams as they pulled away and ended the half up 48-33. They ended the half shooting 10-of-11 3-point range.

By midway in the second half the Aggies pulled away with a 20-point lead. The Rams fell into a scoring drought that would give the Aggies a 79-53 road victory.

“I believe in this team,” said Lady Aggies head coach Patricia Bibbs,”We’re going to put it all together and come out with some consistency. But when you are getting to the basket and getting open shots like we were tonight, you need to knock those shots down. We did that tonight.”

Three days before their victory over the Rams the Aggies defeated South Carolina State 67-60 at the SMH Memorial Center.

Jaleesa Sams had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Aggies. Crystal Murdaugh came off the bench for 12 points and Amber Calvin finished with 11. Whitney Wiley had 20 points and seven rebounds for S.C. State. The Aggies shot a poor 33 percent for the game but used a nearly perfect 25-of 27 free throw performance to pull away with the victory over the Bulldogs. 

“We practice so diligently on free throws,” said Bibbs  “We know free throws are ball game winners. When you have a target on your back like we do, free throws make all the difference.”

The Aggies led 30-26 at the half and pushed their lead to nine early on in the second half. At the 12:19 mark the Aggies found themselves trailing 40-41 after a S.C. State 14-5 run. With three minutes left in the game the Aggies were trailing but clutch free throws from

Sams and Smalley put the Aggies back on top.

“It’s one thing to say you hit free throws, it’s another thing to say you hit clutch free throws,” Bibbs said.

• Lauren Morgan