GAME NOTES
BALTIMORE, Md. – Coppin will look to produce better results this time around at 9th-ranked Maryland Friday night after losing last year's matchup on its home floor. This will be the second consecutive ranked opponent for the Eagles and will face a third in #6 Mississippi State on November 18 to kickstart a brutal opening stretch.
What You Need to Know
- Time and Date: 7:00 p.m. (November 9)
- Live Stats: https://umterps.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
- Video: https://www.btn2go.com/
- Audio: N/A
- Records: Coppin State 0-1 (0-0 MEAC) / Maryland 0-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
- Location: College Park, MD – XFINITY CENTER
- Series History: Maryland Leads 14-0
Coppin Contributors
- Coppin State got off to a slow start against the #25 West Virginia Mountaineers in both teams' 2018-19 season opener on Tuesday night. Coppin recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but it was not enough as WVU protected its turf with a 78-37 victory.
- 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 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 #9 Maryland Terrapins
- UMD begins the campaign ranked #9 in the AP Top 25, while coming in one slot behind in the Coaches Poll at #10. The Lady Terps continued its impressive streak of NCAA Tournament appearances, making the Second Round as a #5 seed last season. Maryland has made eight consecutive trips to the Big Dance (making it to at least the Second Round in each), including 14 of the last 15 seasons. This will be the Terrapins first game of 2018-19.
- Junior guard Kaila Charles is set to wreak havoc on the Big Ten Conference once again this season, as the unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten selection was a machine, dropping 17.9 points per game, while placing inside the top-50 nationally in field goals made (246) and total points (610).
- Charles is extremely tall for a guard (6'1) and was averaging just over one blocked shot per contest for the Terps last year.
- Fellow shot blocker Brianna Fraser was a defensive wizard for UMD, as the 6'3 senior also rejected an average of 1.06 jumpers per game.
- Maryland has its own version of Sue Bird (WNBA all-time assists leader) in Channise Lewis. Lewis is on the Lieberman Award Watch List for top point guard in the country and dished out the second-most assists per game of all freshman in 2017-18 (4.7).
- Lewis was a magician with the rock in her hands, as she was among the top-25 women in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio (2.50), along with providing an additional 160 scoring opportunities to her Terrapin teammates.
News and Notes:
Take A Chance On Me
In just two seasons, junior forward
Chance Graham already ranks 15th on Coppin State's career rebounding list with 568. Graham is well on pace to shatter Rene' Doctor's ('95) career record of 908 rebounds. In just 59 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.
Coppin State All-Time Rebounds Leaderboard
1. Rene' Doctor (908)
2. Kiesha Brooks (865)
3. Larrisa Carter (826)
4. Yvette Larkins (757)
5. Bridgid Mitchell (728)
14. Liesha Mitchell (604)
15. Chance Graham (568)
Having A Fields Day
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 1,226 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.
Staying In The DMV
Senior transfer
Kaiya Coleman was a near double-digit scorer two years ago at Division II University of the District of Columbia. She also has connections with head men's basketball coach and UMD all-time leading scorer
Juan Dixon, as she played under his tutelage in both individuals' lone season with the Firebirds, going 3-25.
Welcome Back
Coppin welcomes back sophomore
Maraiyah Smith after she had a standout freshman season a year ago. Smith averaged nearly nine points per game and ten points in conference play.
What's In A Name?
Along with Graham and Smith,
Oluwadamilola Oloyede returns to the fold for the Navy and Gold. While all the vowels in her name might make one lose their breath after one roll call, she prefers to go by "Dami" to make it easier on her peers. Oloyede had her bright spots in 2017-18, putting up 17 points while making all seven of her shots at Charlotte to go with three double-doubles.
Hawaii 2-5
Charlottesville native
Adrienne Darden has made her way back to the east coast after seeing limited playing time at University of Hawaii two seasons ago. The junior boasts a career-high of seven points versus Boise State and brings a vertical element to the club that was lacking in depth.
Freshman Takeover
To coincide with the Eagles' three transfers Darden, Fields, and Coleman, CSU welcomes a plethora of first year players into the mix with redshirt freshman
Tsahai Corbie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) as well as true freshmen
Diamond Adams (South Bend, Ind.),
E'Mya Price (Charlotte, N.C.),
Jalynda Salley (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and
Elan Wali (Wyncote, Pa) all expected to get significant minutes on the hardwood.
