BALTIMORE – Three Coppin State women's basketball players scored in double figures in the Eagles' 78-65 loss to UMBC at the RAC Arena Wednesday night.
Lone senior
Bria Harris led the Eagles with her first double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Both marks were career-highs for the team captain. Harris was also 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
Even with the best totals of her career, Harris knows that her personal statistics aren't her focus.
"I don't need to focus on my stats," Harris said. "I need to focus on my leadership and building my team up whenever we deflate. The numbers are going to come with how I play and my physicality. But as a captain and the only senior, I have to worry about my team being able to get through tough times. We need to focus on our self-motivation."
Janelle Lane was surely motivated with 13 points and seven rebounds. This was her ninth career game scoring in double figures and second this season.
Tanaysa Henderson had a career-best 10 points off the bench. She also added a career-high four steals.
Amber Griffin,
Keena Samuels, and
Genesis Lucas added six points each. For Lucas, it was a career-high.
Coppin State came out swinging in the first half, leading by as many as 11 points on two occasions. The Eagles were up 32-21 with 6:35 on the clock when things started to change. The Retrievers were able to make up the 11-point deficit as Coppin State headed into halftime with a 40-36 lead.
In the second half, UMBC took a 41-40 lead after three minutes and never relinquished it. Foul trouble was also a key issue that kept the Eagles from being able to rally.
Harris saw the momentum shift in the second half but the Eagles were too focused on their mistakes to pick up the pieces.
"In the beginning of the first half, our energy level was high and we were ready to get it going," Harris said. "We just deflated after our mistakes, the turnovers and fouling back-to-back. Instead of picking each other up, we took our mistakes and drilled them in our heads instead of looking at the next play."
Amanda Hagaman and Taylor McCarley topped UMBC with 15 points each. Capree Garner added 14 points.
Looking ahead, Coppin State returns to action on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. to face Wake Forest at 2:00 p.m.
Veteran head coach
Derek Brown wants his team to look at this as a learning experience as they prepare for its second Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foe of the season.
"It's about what we do," Brown said. "It's not too much about who we're playing. Wake Forest isn't going to be any different than UMBC in terms of aggressiveness, hustle, and just wanting to get it done. Don't be surprised if we're right there at the end of the game."
