January 30, 2009

Complete Game Notes

Game 18
Howard (3-15, 2-4 MEAC) vs.
North Carolina A&T State (13-5, 6-0 MEAC)

Date: Saturday, Jan. 31
Place: Burr Gymnasium, Washington, D.C.
Series: Howard leads 34-20
Internet Broadcast: www.hsrn.com

The Game
The Lady Bison will kick off four straight home games with an afternoon matchup against the Aggies of North Carolina A&T State. Howard is coming off a MEAC loss to defending champion Coppin State on Jan. 26 while the Aggies took down S.C. State, 90-61 in its last time out.

Sophomore Zykia Brown paced HU with a team-high 18 points in the loss to the Eagles. Senior Tamaya Daniels added 12 and Natalie Day led the Bison in rebounds with nine.

Amber Bland had 23 points against the Bulldogs. Jaleesa Sams finished with 12 and Brittanie Taylor-James added 11.

Howard
Probable Starters 

No.	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	2008-09 Stats
22	Jalisa Pullins	G	So.	5-5	2.7 ppg/2.0 rpg
11	Zykia Brown	G	So.	5-8	15.6 ppg/5.3 rpg
21	Morgan Neal	F	Jr.	5-10	4.5 ppg/3.4 rpg
3	Natalie Day	F	Fr.	6-0	7.4 ppg/4.7 rpg
31	Tamaya Daniels	C	Sr.	6-2	8.1 ppg/6.4 rpg

North Carolina A&T State
Probable Starters 

No.	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	2008-09 Stats
3	Ta'Wauna Cook	G	Jr.	5-8	5.5 ppg/4.6 rpg
23	Amber Bland	G	Sr.	5-11	4.2 ppg/4.1 rpg
22	Brittanie Taylor-James	F	Sr.	6-0	4.3 ppg/4.6 rpg
32	Jaleesa Sams	F	S0.	5-11	15. ppg/9.0 rpg
45	Lamona Smalley	F	Jr.	6-0	12.6 ppg/6.5 rpg

Scouting North Carolina A&T State
The MEAC leading Aggies, winners of seven straight, are undefeated in conference play with its last loss coming to Kentucky on Jan. 1. Brittanie Taylor-James is averaging a team-high 18.4 points per game while Amber Bland adds 16.5 points per game. Lamona Smalley is tops on the team with 6.9 rebounds per game. 

NCAT is coached by Patricia Cage-Bibbs, who is in her fourth season with the Aggies. She has a 64-45 mark at the school and a 435-251 career record in 24 years as a head coach.

Brown Earns MEAC Honor
Howard sophomore guard Zykia Brown (Riverdale, Md./Parkdale H.S.) was named the MEAC Player of the Week on January 20. Brown helped Howard to a 3-0 record that week and pulled down 31 points and 12 rebounds, both career-highs, against Bethune-Cookman to give the Bison its first win of the year.

The Sparkplug
Howard freshman India Bradford (Washington, D.C.) has provided quality minutes in backing up sophomore Jalisa Pullins (Decatur, Ga.). Bradford has shown a unique burst and ability to break down opposing defenses. Against American, Bradford had 10 points and three steals. She also knocked down three treys, her second straight game with three field goals from beyond the arc.