Women's Basketball | 11/10/2016 12:23:00 PM
RICHMOND, Va. – Coppin State women's basketball travels to Virginia Commonwealth (Richmond, Va.) on Friday, Nov. 11 for their 2016-17 season opener in the Siegel Center. Game time is 11:00 a.m. (ET).
COPPIN STATE AT A GLANCE
Coppin State returns six letterwinners who competed last season, including two of the team's starters – senior guard
Keena Samuels and red-shirt junior guard
Genesis Lucas. Other prominent contributors back from last season's team are graduate guard
Vanessa Neal, junior forward
Candice Beverly, junior center
Oluwaseun Adeniji and sophomore
Alexis Taylor. In all, Coppin State's roster includes three seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen.
EAGLES LOOK TO REBOUND AFTER LOSS IN 2016 MEAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The 2016-17 Eagles will have vengeance on their minds after coming up short in the MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament championship game to North Carolina A&T. A new head coach will lead the Eagles after the retirement of Derek Brown who served on the Coppin State sidelines for 17 seasons. Coppin State alum,
DeWayne Burroughs takes over and will have big shoes to fill this season. The 2015-16 team led the MEAC in field goals percentage (39.7) and in both steals (321) and steals per game (10.0). Guards
Genesis Lucas and Keena Samuel started on last season's squad that advanced to the MEAC tournament championship game.
LUCAS TOPS 2015-16 MEAC ASSIST LIST
Guard
Genesis Lucas finished the 2015-16 season as the conference leader in assists. Lucas averaged 4.3 assists per game and finished with 130 total ranking 86
th in the nation. In 13 games she recorded five or more assists including a career-best ten assists versus North Carolina Central (2/18/16).
SENIOR EXPERIENCE
Guard
Keena Samuels, forward
Vanessa Neal and forward
Tiara Goode are the only seniors on the 2016-17 roster. Samuels is the only returning Eagle that averaged double figure scoring (11.7) last year. She started in 30 games and was the Eagles top-scorer and ranked 12
th in the MEAC in points per game. Samuels finished with 19 double figure scoring games including 14 out of 17 conference games. Neal is in her second year at Coppin State after transferring from Niagara University. Goode is a transfer from the University of the District of Columbia where she previously played for Coach Burroughs.
WELCOME TO THE EAGLE NEST
Burroughs adds four freshman and a graduate student he previously coached while at UDC to the Eagles six returners. Goode averaged 10.1 points with 5.6 rebounds per game last season on Burroughs' UDC team that went 21-9 and made it to the conference semifinals in 2015-16. Freshmen
Mia Crooms and
Jordan Meaurie Pickett are guards that will learn from Lucas and Samuel throughout the year. Crooms was named an honorable mention to the 2015 All-Bronx Girls Basketball Team. The rookie post players feature
Chance Graham and
Oluwadamilola Oloyede. Graham was ranked 37
th in the DMV list for Next Sports Phenom and was also named Ms. Maryland Basketball by the Maryland Basketball Coaches Association. Oloyede received the Washington Post All-Met honorable mention in 2016.
SEASON OPENERS
Coppin State last won a season opener on November 9
th at home against Cheyney, 97-41. In 2015-16, Virginia Commonwealth defeated Coppin State 73-42 in both team's opener. The Eagles are 3-7 in their last ten season openers.
PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
Coppin State was selected seventh in the preseason MEAC poll, announced on Oct. 27
th by the women's basketball coaches and sports information directors. North Carolina A&T was picked to finish first, collecting 13 of 26 first-place votes, while Bethune-Cookman was selected second (and secured five first-place votes). Coppin State was picked to finish seventh in the conference race. The Eagles last won the MEAC regular-season title in 2006-07 and last won the tournament in 2008.
RETURNERS FROM LAST SEASON'S STARTING LINEUP
Genesis Lucas – 5-7 – red-shirt junior, guard – Brandywine, Md. (Gwynn Park HS)
- Led the conference and team with 130 assists (4.3 apg) while also led the team in assists 19 times and steals 10 times
- Ranked third in the league and led the team with 69 steals
- Scored in double figures nine times and led the team in scoring three times
- Finished first on the team and second in the MEAC in Assist to Turnover Ratio (1.2)
Keena Samuels – 5-7 – senior, guard – Upper Marlboro, Md. (Largo HS)
- Led the team in scoring with 373 points, averaging 11.7 points per game which ranked 12th in the MEAC
- Finished with 19 double figure scoring games including double figures in 14 of 17 MEAC games
- Finished with three games of 20 or more points
- Tied for second on the team with 58 steals, which was tied for sixth in the MEAC
RETURNING CONTRIBUTORS FROM LAST SEASON
Candice Beverly – 6-0 – junior, forward – Fredericksburg, Va. (Riverbend HS)
- Averaged 0.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 17 games
- Tallied a season-high four points against Miami, grabbed a season-best four rebounds twice against Towson and Morgan State
Vanessa Neal – 5-7 – grad, forward – Pennsauken, N.J. (Niagara)
- Played in 24 games averaging 0.5 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game
- Shot 50% from the free-throw line
- Scored in five games with a season-high three points at Towson
Alexis Taylor – 6-3 – sophomore, center – Washington, DC (Takoma Academy)
- Played in 14 games averaging 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per game
- Made 2-of-2 shots from the field versus North Carolina Central registering a season-high four points
- Grabbed 12 total rebounds including a season-high five at Towson
Oluwaseun Adeniji – 6-3 – junior, center – Staten Island, N.Y. (Curtis HS)
- Played in 24 games averaging 0.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.1 assists while shooting over 38% from the field
- Scored in eight contests including a season-high three points at West Virginia
- Recorded 21 rebounds and grabbed a season-high five rebounds twice at Virginia Commonwealth and at Towson
ABOUT THE RAMS
Virginia Commonwealth enters the 2016-17 season under the direction of third-year head coach Beth O'Boyle. O'Boyle led the Rams to a 23-10 overall record with a 10-6 mark in conference play in 2015-16. VCU defeated a ranked Arizona State squad and earned six victories over NCAA Tournament teams. The team returns 10 letterwinners overall and welcomes four freshman and a standout graduate transfer in Mooriah Rowser who joined VCU after graduating from Memphis this past May. Senior guard Isis Thorpe is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 9.7 points per game. Curteeona Brelove also returns after averaging 4.8 rebounds per contest.
YEAR ONE
DeWayne Burroughs became the seventh head coach in the 31 year history of the women's basketball program. Burroughs is a Coppin State alum and last season was at the District of Columbia where he served as the head women's basketball coach in 2015-16 and previously as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator since 2011.
ON DECK FOR COPPIN STATE
Coppin State opens the season with four road games before hosting Stephen F. Austin at home on Friday, Nov. 25. The Eagles remain in the state of Virginia after their battle on Friday, Nov. 11 against Virginia Commonwealth with a Sunday, Nov. 13 contest against Virginia at 2 p.m. This will be the fifth meeting between Virginia and Coppin State with Virginia leading the all-time series 4-0.
