Morgantown, W.V. – Coppin State could not slow down the #25 West Virginia Mountaineers in the opener, falling 78-37. Preseason All-MEAC First Teamer
Chance Graham picked up where she left off in 2017-18 as she pieced together her first double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 37, West Virginia 78
- Records: Coppin State 0-1 (0-0 MEAC) / West Virginia 1-0 (0-0 Big 12)
- Location: Morgantown, WV – WVU Coliseum
- Series History: West Virginia Leads 11-0
How It Happened
First Quarter
- A 6-0 run put the Mountaineers ahead, before Brooke Fields' jumper in the paint put Coppin on the board at the 6:41 mark.
- Three triples from WVU, one from Tynice Martin and two by Katrina Pardee, gave the home team a 9-point cushion going into the first media timeout of the season.
- Coppin went without a bucket over the next two and a half minutes, before Maraiyah Smith jumper broke the drought, making the score 17-8 in favor of West Virginia.
- CSU would then hold off WVU for almost three-and-a-half minutes before going into the first quarter break trailing, 19-11.
Second Quarter
- A Chance Graham layup to cut the lead to six would be followed by just over two minutes of nothing for the Eagles, when Graham converted two free throws to make it 23-15 WVU.
- From 8:32 to 5:29, neither side could muster up a single field goal, with the only points coming from the charity stripe.
- A Madisen Smith jumper for West Virginia broke its slump to extend the advantage to, 25-15.
- Another WV layup forced a Coppin timeout with five minutes remaining, with CSU yet to record a field goal over the previous 4:23 with six straight misses being the culprit.
- The Mountaineers started to pull away, going on a back-breaking 19-0 surge while the Eagles went scoreless for the final 7:11 to head to the half behind, 42-15.
Third Quarter
- CSU was able to find the bottom of the net with 9:28 left in the third courtesy of a Graham free throw, making it, 45-16 WV.
- Graham tallied the team's first field goal since the 9:23 point in the second quarter with a jumper at 6:53, 50-20 West Virginia.
- Jalynda Salley recorded her first career collegiate points with consecutive layups at the 2:01 and 1:13 marks.
- Graham put together her first double-double of the new campaign when she pulled down a defensive rebound and a subsequent layup at the other end. She had 13 points and 10 rebounds going into the final frame.
Fourth Quarter
- E'mya Price joined Salley in getting on the board in her first Lady Eagles appearance, sinking a layup with 3:24 remaining.
- Coppin hung tough with West Virginia over the length of the quarter, but ultimately fell, 78-37.
Inside the Numbers
- Graham proved her worth for CSU, amassing 17 points and 11 rebounds to earn her first double-double of 2018, while also rejecting three shots and picking up two steals. She had 11 double-doubles last season for the Eagles.
- Fields, Salley, and Price all scored in their debut for the navy and gold, as they went for seven, five, and two points, respectively.
- Jalynda Salley came off the bench to place second on the team in rebounds (7) while contributing an additional five points and three steals.
- WV's Naomi Davenport collected herself a triple-double (13 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) to compliment Tynice Martin's double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds).
Who's Next?
- Burroughs' squad will head down I-95 South to take on Brenda Frese and the #9 Maryland Terrapins. Tip-off will take place Friday night at 7 p.m.
