Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Morgan State may have won both meetings during the regular season but Coppin State won when it mattered most.

The 10th-seeded Lady Eagles opened the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament in the Norfolk Scope Arena with a 71-56 victory over the seventh-seeded Lady Bears and advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals to face second-seeded Savannah State at 2:30 p.m.

"We came in with a chip on our shoulder," junior guard Amber Griffin said. "We didn't want to lose to our rivals three times so when we came out, we came out with vengeance."

Coppin State (7-21) clicked on all cylinders with all five starters scoring in double figures for the first time this season. Swails led the Eagles in scoring for the 10th time with 16 points, her 14th game in double digits.

"It was a team effort," junior guard Jordan Swails said. "Nothing was one on one. If you got past one of us it was another one of us there."

Post players senior Bria Harris and junior Janelle Lane put up 13 points and eight rebounds apiece. Lane also had four steals, three assists and two blocks. Griffin tallied 13 points of her own and a game-high four assists. Redshirt freshman Genesis Lucas rounded out the starting five with 11 points.

The Lady Eagles opened the game with a 19-3 run – a span in which MSU went 1-for-7 from the floor and had six turnovers. Coppin State later led 27-15 after a pair of free throws from Harris but the Lady Bears went on a 16-4 run to close to within 31-28 at the 1:48 mark. Coppin State led 35-28 at the half. MSU cut the lead to 51-43 with 11:05 remaining in the contest. The Lady Eagles responded with a 10-1 run and never looked back.

Coppin State played exceptional defense, keeping MSU's top scorers, Braennan Farrar and Tracey Carrington, to a combined 5-for-26 shooting effort from the field. As a team, the Lady Bears shot 27.3 percent from the floor, their lowest field goal percentage against a conference opponent. In the last meeting 10 days ago, the pair were 13-of-30 from the field and combined for 44 points.

Coach Brown knew it would take a united Coppin State team to move on in the tournament. The Lady Eagles stood tall together, posting their second highest field goal percentage of the season (44.2 percent). Coppin State hit five of its nine three-pointers (55.6 percent) and shot 83.3 percent from the foul line (20-of-24). Coppin State held a 42-36 edge in rebounding.

"I think our ladies did a fantastic job today," Coppin State head coach Derek Brown said. "It might've been the best game we've played this year. We changed some defense and gave them something I don't think anyone has seen this year. We've been practicing 1-3-1 and thought it would work with the type of offense they've run against the past two games. I think that was the difference but we also played good offense. We were patient, hit the open person and held on enough to get the victory."