GAME NOTES
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Lady Eagles will depart for frigid Minneapolis to play the #13 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers on Wednesday evening.
What You Need to Know
Coppin Contributors
- Coppin has had to traverse possibly the toughest non-conference slate in basketball so far, with Minnesota being the fourth ranked opponent and fifth undefeated team that the Lady Eagles have faced in its first eight contests.
- Brooke Fields has taken over the mantle for most prolific scorer over the past few games, as she's averaged 15.7 points per game over her past three appearances. Her 26-point outburst in the last game at Ohio was the highest among all Lady Eagles players so far this season.
- Fields is the frontrunner on the Lady Eagles with 19 assists while sinking 72% of her free throws.
- Two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Week Chance Graham has been a consistent presence on the MEAC leader boards, pacing the conference in double-doubles (4), rebounds per game (10.3), and minutes played per game (36.43), while finishing within the top-five for steals per game (2.0) and points per game (15.0).
- Graham presently is tops on the Eagles in regard to three-point percentage (28.9%), steals (14), blocks (11), and points (105).
- Fields has been able to convert her attempts from the charity stripe consistently, going 5-for-6 and a .833 free-throw percentage.
- Jalynda Salley has made her looks at the basket count, hitting 44.8% of her shots from the floor, best on the squad.
- Salley is second on the club in rebounds per contest (5.0) and blocks (4) to go with her effective shooting stroke.
- Kaiya Coleman had a career game to build off going forward, corralling 12 rebounds in the prior contest at Ohio, three boards higher than her previous best of nine.
- Maraiyah Smith has heated up of late, dropping double-figure point totals in two of her last three games.
Scouting the #13 Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Minnesota has dismantled its opponents over the first nine games, winning all nine of its matchups, with six of its nine victories coming by 15 or more points.
- The Golden Gophers have a suffocating defense that has given up the fifth lowest point average (51.2), dominating the rebounding margin (12.8) and stifling the opponent's offense to make only 33% of its shots.
- The maroon and gold have a distinct advantage whenever Kenisha Bell is on the court, as the point guard is putting together 18.4 points per game, four assists per game and 2.56 steals per game.
- Bell is on two national award watch lists for National Player of the Year (WBCA Wade Trophy) and Nation's Top Point Guard (Nancy Lieberman Award).
- The other starting guard for the Gophers, Destiny Pitts, is a long-ball weapon and a deadly shooter from the charity stripe. Pitts has made 38.5% of her triples to go along with an 89% conversion rate from the free-throw line.
- Pitts joins Bell in getting national recognition, as she finds herself Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List for Nation's Top Shooting Guard.
- Fans in attendance will be witness to two of the nation's top double-double machines with Coppin State's Chance Graham pitted against Minnesota's Taiye Bello. Bello and Graham combine for eight double-doubles on the season, with Bello grabbing the third-most rebounds per contest in the NCAA through her nine games (13.4).
News and Notes:
Take A Chance On Me
In just two seasons and seven games, junior forward
Chance Graham already ranks 13th on Coppin State's career rebounding list with 629. Graham is well on pace to shatter Rene' Doctor's ('95) career record of 908 rebounds. In just 65 games, Graham has averaged 9.7 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)
12. LaKesha Wills (631)
13. Chance Graham (629)
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
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.
Every Tuesday on WNST 1570 AM
Every Tuesday morning during the season, head coach
DeWayne Burroughs and selected coaches and players will be interviewed by Nestor Aparicio on WNST 1570 AM. WNST will air all Coppin home women's basketball games this season as well as selected road games. Games will also be aired on Fox Sports Williamsport.
Preseason Predictions
Coppin State was picked to finish 9th of 12 teams in the 2018-19 MEAC Preseason Poll.
Chance Graham, who received 2nd Team All-MEAC honors last season, headlined the Preseason First Team. Defending Tournament Champions North Carolina A&T was picked to win the MEAC, followed by the co-Regular Season Champion Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, with Norfolk State, Howard and Maryland Eastern Shore (1 first-place vote) rounded out the top-five. Angel Golden of Bethune-Cookman was named the Preseason MEAC Player of the Year.
First Recruit Signed For 2019-2020 Recruiting Class
Coppin State University's women's basketball head coach
DeWayne Burroughs has announced that Marley Grenway, a 5-foot-10 guard from Jessup, Maryland, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Eagles in the 2019-2020 season. This is the first signee for CSU's recruiting class for next season.
Starring at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, Maryland, Grenway led the Scorpions to a 2A Regional Championship and State Semifinal as a junior. Grenway averaged 15.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and nearly two steals per game as she was named Third Team All-State for 1A and 2A schools as well as Honorable Mention All-Met by the Washington Post.
Known for her shooting prowess, Grenway made 64 3-pointers last season at Oakland Mills and played her AAU ball for Team Takeover as well as Team Intensity.
Defending Her Turf
Chance Graham has won two MEAC Defensive Player of the Week Awards in 2018-19 and four in her career. Graham had earned the honor on November 20 and December 4 of this year, while winning Defensive POTW for the weeks of January 9 and February 6 last season.
A native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Graham was the Eagles' most consistent player last week, averaging 19 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks in contests at Marshall and Virginia. The Largo High School graduate had 17 points, 10 rebounds, a game-high 3 steals and a block at Marshall before dropping a season-high 21 points, including a career-best five three-pointers to go along with eight rebounds, a team-leading two steals and a block at Virginia.
Graham's presence is littered all over the national leader boards, as she places inside the top-25 in five different categories, and appears on 15 different rankings in total. She currently sits 13th on the Coppin State career rebounding list with 623 and is projected to obliterate the current record of 908 held by Rene' Doctor. The junior paces the Eagles in points (97), rebounds (66), steals (14), and blocks (11), while sitting atop the MEAC in defensive rebounds per game (8), double-doubles (4), free throw attempts (53), minutes played per game (38.5) and rebounds per game (11).
