BALTIMORE, Md. – CSU women's basketball will have a measuring stick test from the get-go, when it travels to Morgantown to face the #25 ranked Mountaineers of West Virginia. The Mountaineers were a WNIT Final Four participant in 2017-18, and are projected to finish third in the Big 12 Conference.
What You Need to Know
- Time and Date: 7:00 p.m. (November 6)
- Live Stats: http://statb.us/b/237238
- Video: N/A
- Audio: https://wvusports.com/showcase
- Last Season's Records: Coppin State 6-23 (5-11 MEAC) / West Virginia 25-12 (8-10 Big 12)
- Location: Morgantown, WV – WVU Coliseum
- Series History: West Virginia Leads 10-0
Coppin Contributors
- Coppin State finished last season 6-23 while compiling a 5-11 record in MEAC play. The Eagles qualified for the conference tournament as an #11 seed, before falling to #6 seed Morgan State in the first round.
- Preseason All-MEAC First-Teamer Chance Graham headlines the returning starters for the Lady Eagles. She had one of the best rebounding seasons in school history in 2017-18, pulling down 309 rebounds, the second-most in school history behind Rene' Doctor's 344 in 1995.
- Graham notched individual game records as well, as her 34-point outburst against Bethune-Cookman places sixth all-time for points in a game, and her 20-rebound performance against UMES put her in ninth on the list for most rebounds in a game.
- Nationally, Graham was among the top 25 players in women's basketball regarding defensive rebounds per game (7) and rebounds per game (10.7) a year ago.
- Coppin returns three players from last year's squad along with Graham, as Maraiyah Smith and Oluwadamilola Oloyede look to build upon productive freshman and sophomore campaigns, respectively. Redshirt freshman Tsahai Corbie missed all of last season with an injury.
- The Navy and Gold will be showcasing a lot of fresh faces this season, with four freshman and three transfers composing the eleven-woman roster.
- The transfers include two rising seniors transitioning from the Division II level in Kaiya Coleman (University of the District of Columbia) and Brooke Fields (Roberts Wesleyan) and a junior making the cross-country jump in Adrienne Darden (University of Hawaii).
- Coleman, who played under current head men's basketball coach Juan Dixon in their lone season at UDC, led the Firebirds in free-throw percentage (75.3%) and was second in three-point percentage (31.8%) in 2016-17.
- Fields was an efficient shooter for Roberts Wesleyan two seasons ago, pacing the Redhawks in average points per game (15.6) as well as free-throw percentage (83%). Her best game was when she dropped a team-high 33 points and 11 made field goals in a victory of Bridgeport. She piled up 1,226 points in her three-year stint with the Redhawks, averaging 13.6 points per season.
- Darden accumulated 27 rebounds, 26 points and 11 blocks in 19 games for the Rainbow Wahine during her Freshman season including a season-high seven points versus Boise State.
Scouting the #25 West Virginia Mountaineers
- WVU starts the season ranked in the Coaches Poll, while receiving 35 votes and placing just outside of the AP Poll at #27 to start the season. The Mountaineers are looking to build off a run to the WNIT Final Four a season ago, where it fell to runner-up Virginia Tech 64-61. West Virginia went 14-7 at the WVU Coliseum in 2017-18.
- Preseason All-Big 12 guard Tynice Martin is the Mountaineers' star performer. She is coming off a year where she was named an AP All-American Honorable Mention, scored the sixth-most points in program history (651), and recorded 10 or more points in 33 of the team's 35 games.
- Martin was placed on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, which goes to the top small forward in the NCAA.
- 2017-18 Big 12 Second-Teamer Naomi Davenport returns after finishing inside the country's top-50 in field goals made (226), minutes played (1,200), and steals (83).
- Sharp-shooter Katrina Pardee will continue to bomb away from behind the arc for the Mountaineers, as she led the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage (39.2%) and came in third for total threes made (82).
- WVU has two D1 transfers on the roster in De'Janae Boykin (Penn State) and Lucky Rudd (NC State). Boykin led the Nittany Lions in rebounds per game (7.6) while Rudd averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15 games for the Wolfpack in 2017-18.
News & Notes
Graham Climbing the Boards
In just two seasons, junior forward
Chance Graham already ranks 16th on Coppin State's career rebounding list with 557. Graham is well on pace to shatter Rene' Doctor's ('95) career record of 908 rebounds. In just 58 games, Graham has averaged 9.6 rebounds per game. A Second team All-MEAC selection last year, Graham led the conference with 10.7 rebounds per game and her 309 rebounds were the second most in Coppin single-season history.
Fields a Proficient Scorer
New to the squad this season is senior
Brooke Fields, a former standout at Division II Roberts Wesleyan College. In three seasons with the Redhawks, Fields scored 1,26 points with a career-high 33 points in a victory over Bridgeport. Two seasons ago, Fields earned All-ECC honors with 15.6 points per game along with an 83% free throw percentage.
Welcome Back
Aside from Graham, Coppin welcomes back sophomore
Maraiyah Smith and junior
Oluwadamilola Oloyede from last season. Smith had a standout freshman season a year ago, averaging nearly nine points per game and ten points in conference play. Oloyede had her bright spots, putting up 17 points while making all seven of her shots at Charlotte to go with three double-doubles.
New to the Charm City
Along with Fields, the Eagles welcome a plethora of newcomers with fellow transfers
Adrienne Darden and
Kaiya Coleman, as well as redshirt freshman
Tsahai Corbie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and true freshman
Diamond Adams (South Bend, Ind.),
E'Mya Price (Charlotte, N.C.),
Jalynda Salley (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and
Elan Wali (Wyncote, Pa). Coleman was a near double-digit scorer two years ago at Division II University of the District of Columbia. Darden saw limited time at Hawaii but boast a career-high of seven points versus Boise State.
