The Lady Aggies suffered a tough loss of 61-60 to the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State University in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament.

Both the S.C. State Bulldogs and the Aggies displayed determination to dominate in the game, but at the end of the first half the Aggies came out on top with a score of 29-21. This set them up for a great start going into the second half of the game.

Senior Guard Tyronnica Alford lead the first half for the Aggies with six points, followed by TaíWuana Cook and Amber Calvin with five points each.  Tough defense on both sides kept the score in the first half low, and the Aggies forced 10 turn overís, and drew the Lady Bulldogs within seconds of several shot clock violations.

The Lady Bulldogs came back in the second half ready for action, and brought the Lady Aggies” lead down to one point, with a 35-34 game in just the first few minutes of the game. As tensions heated up, and the crowd began to feed the flames on both sides, the Aggies called a timeout to regroup and re-strategize.

The Lady Bulldogs took the lead, making it at 37-35 game and put the Lady Aggies on edge, and rattling fans. Also adding to the atmosphere were the Lady Pirates and Lady Rattlers of Hampton University and Florida A&M cheering on the Lady Bulldogs to take the #1 seeded Aggies down.

After a brief six point run by the Bulldogs, the Aggies began to try and close the gap, but got a series of tough referee calls and fouls.  Following a second time out, the Lady Aggies came back in the game with a strong defensive strategy, bringing the Bulldogs lead to within three points.

Forward Lamona Smalley drove hard to the basket for a two-point goal. Smalley was fouled by the Lady bulldogs, giving her a free throw to tie the game at 47 all.  A series of power drives and free throws turned the remainder of the game would become a one-point battle.

The turning point in the game came at 49.2 seconds when the Lady Aggies took a three point lead of 59-56, and then again at just over 10 seconds when the Aggies led 60-58. With 8.3 seconds on the clock, the Bulldogs had position of the ball, and a three point shot brought them to a 61-60 lead over the Aggies, leaving 1.9 seconds on the clock. The Aggies couldnít recover fast enough, and took the loss.

“This was a tough loss, but it happens in this game,” Head Coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs said of the Lady Aggies loss. “The whole year has been a really tough year, but we’ve been truly blessed as a team. We won the regular season, and South Carolina State did a really great job. They played hard and these are the types of endings that you have in these kind of tournaments.”Bibbs said that there were a few things that could have made a difference, such as a few shots in the first half that could have easily been made. However, she also said that it truly didnít come down to the last shot.

“I can’t put my finger on just a defining moment that turned the game around, you have to put two halfís together,” Bibbs said. “We had enough to do what we had to do but it just didnít happen. Itís just situation basketball and these things happen.”

North Carolina A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr said that while he was equally as shocked as the A&T fans at the games outcome, he is still extremely proud of the team.

“Obviously we all had high hopes coming into the MEAC,” Martin said. “The young ladies have had such a wonderful season and I certainly want to congratulate them on that. It was an off game for them, and while we may be disappointed we are also very proud of them and that prevails. They’ve got great support and we are looking forward to next year.”

Senior Ta’Wuana Cook may be leaving the team, but she leaves behind her words of encouragement and confidence in the Aggie team.

“I just want to wish my teammates the very best of luck next year,” Cook said. “They will be here next year as the number one seed I’m very confident in that. We didn’t expect this loss, but we will bounce back.”

The upset will land the Lady Aggies (21-10) in the Womenís National Invitational

Tournament for the second time in three years where they will face Wake Forest (17-14).

The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 92-43 Demon Deacon win.

If the Lady Aggies advance they will face the winner of Gardner-Webb at Charlotte battle. The last A&T WNIT appearance resulted in a 102-74 loss at South Carolina. They earned the automatic berth by winning the MEAC regular-season title.

This will mark the first season of the WNIT 64-team field, including 31 teams with automatic berths and 33 at-large berth teams. The tournament kicks off with first round games tonight. Last season, the blue and gold loss to ACC regular-season champs Florida State in the NCAA tournament. 

They also recieved the highest seeding ever for any historically black university when they earned a 14th seed in the tournament. The ladies have now played in the postseason for three consecutive years. 

• Dexter R. Mullins & Daniel Henderson