Four Eagles Score In Double-Figures, But Marshall Prevails, 88-67

Huntington, W.V. – Brooke Fields (19), Chance Graham (17), Kaiya Coleman (11), and Maraiyah Smith (11) all provided double-digit scoring efforts, but Marshall's 16 three-pointers were too much to overcome in an 88-67 loss.
 
The Basics

• Final Score: Coppin State 67, Marshall 88
• Records: Coppin State 0-5 (0-0 MEAC) / Marshall 3-4 (0-0)
• Location: Huntington, WV – Cam Henderson Center
• Series History: Marshall Leads 1-0

 
How It Happened
 
First Quarter

• Three-pointers were the trend from the opening tip, as the first four shots made on the day were triples all coming within a minute and a half span. Marshall's Shayna Gore hit one to open the scoring before Coppin's Brooke Fields splashed one of her own. Gore hit two more with MU's Kristen Mayo providing another as The Herd started the contest on a 17-5 rampage.
• The Thundering Herd kept up the pace, outscoring the Eagles 8-2 to take a commanding 25-7 lead into the second quarter.
• Marshall was unconscious from behind the arc with 21 of the team's 25 first quarter points coming from downtown and hitting 7-of-11 threes.
• Gore and Mayo were the catalysts, knocking down three triples a piece, with Kia Sivils providing the other long ball.

Second Quarter

• Maraiyah Smith and Brooke Fields banked in three layups off the glass to make it 27-13 Herd.
• Smith's long-range jumper cut the deficit to 11 (29-18) before both teams' offenses went silent for almost two minutes, until MU's Taylor Pearson sunk a layup and a free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play to bring the margin back to 14, 32-18.
• CSU started to make waves, as a Kaiya Coleman three coupled with four points from Jalynda Salley bring Coppin State to within striking distance, 32-25.
• Free throws by Coleman shrunk the Marshall lead to 34-30, but a devastating four-point play by The Herd's Taylor Porter at the buzzer sent the teams to the locker room with the Lady Eagles behind 38-30.
• After being outscored 25-7 in the first quarter, Coppin turned the tables, outscoring the potent Thundering Herd scoring attack 23-13 in the second.

Third Quarter

• MU picked up its torrid pace from three-point land, knocking down five triples over the first four minutes of the second half to blow the game back open and widen the gap to 21, 56-35.
• CSU made eight unanswered while holding The Herd scoreless over the next three minutes to crawl back within 14, 58-44 Marshall.
• Coppin and Marshall remained relatively even for the rest of the quarter, with the Thundering Herd holding a 12-point cushion heading to the fourth, 64-52.

Fourth Quarter

• The Herd started to put the clamps down, garnering 11 of the next 16 points to hold a 75-57 advantage at the halfway point of the fourth.
• Marshall put the car in cruise control as the game headed to the finish line, with the Thundering Herd topping the Lady Eagles by a score of 88-67.

Inside the Numbers

• Chance Graham has been nothing but consistent over the first five games, after accumulating her fourth double-double. This is the third game she's had 17 points on the year, while she's pulled down at least 10 rebounds in every contest.
• Brooke Fields set a new season-high with 19 points on the afternoon, while also grabbing a season-best three steals. This is Fields' second double-figure scoring output of 2018-19.
• UDC transfer Kaiya Coleman had her best performance as an Eagle, nearly tripling her season total (4) with 11 points versus The Herd to go along with three assists and three steals.
• Maraiyah Smith was another Eagle to set a season-high in points in Huntington, dropping 11 while tying for the team-lead with three steals.
• 5-1 Freshman guard Diamond Adams can now say she scored a point in Division I basketball, sinking a free throw with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter.
• The Lady Eagles shot a season-high 36.4% on three-balls (8-22) and tied the highest field-goal percentage of the campaign with 33.3% (21-63).
• CSU took away 14 steals in the contest, another season-best tally, with four players snatching three.
• Shayna Gore wreaked havoc on the Eagles defense, pacing the Thundering Herd with 28 points and nine assists, while pulling in eight rebounds.
• Kristen Mayo was flawless from downtown, converting all of her points through the three-pointer, finishing a perfect 6-for-6 with 18 points from deep.
• Taylor Porter and Ashley Saintigene had 13 and 12, respectively, while Khadaijia Brooks was the lone Herd player to record 10 rebounds.
• Marshall was lights out from the field, hitting half of its shots (27-55) including an impressive 48 points off 16-of-32 three-point attempts.

 
 
Who's Next?

• A quick turnaround ensues for Burroughs' Lady Eagles, as the team goes to Charlottesville to face the Cavaliers of Virginia in less than 24 hours (1 p.m. Sunday, December 2).