BALTIMORE, Md. – DeWayne Burroughs' team will try to break into the win column this Saturday when it faces off with an undefeated Ohio Bobcats squad coming off a victory over Purdue. This is the fourth team the Lady Eagles have faced that came into the contest undefeated in its first seven games.
What You Need to Know
Coppin Contributors
- While Coppin has yet to notch a victory, an opening stretch of three ranked opponents and five out of the six games coming away from Baltimore did not do them any favors.
- Chance Graham is staking her claim as the best player in the MEAC, amassing four double-doubles over the team's first six games, pacing the conference in rebounds per game (11), third in three-point percentage (29.3%), and ranking inside the top five in blocks (11), free throws made (80) and points per game (16.2).
- Graham has been honored twice already this year for her outstanding defensive work, winning the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week twice in the first four weeks. She's tops among Lady Eagles players in both blocks (11) and steals (14), setting a career-high with four blocks in the game at #6 Mississippi State on November 18.
- Guard Brooke Fields has been Graham's sidekick when it comes to the offensive attack, dropping 8.5 points per contest, hitting 66.7% of her attempts from the charity stripe, and dropping dimes to her teammates for three assists a game.
- Reynoldsburg, Ohio native Jalynda Salley has provided a huge post presence this season, pulling in 34 boards over six games, and falling shy of her first career double-double off the bench last week at Virginia (8 points, 12 rebounds).
- Freshman Diamond Adams is getting some quality action as of late, scoring her first career point on Saturday versus Marshall before one-upping herself with her first triple and two steals on Sunday against Virginia.
- Kaiya Coleman can now say she started a division 1 basketball game after Sunday's setback in Charlottesville. She earned the starting nod after putting together her first double-digit scoring effort as an Eagle with 11 points against the Thundering Herd.
- Sophomore Maraiyah Smith had her first breakout performance of the 2018-19 season in Huntington as well, mirroring Coleman's 11 points while leading the team in steals (3) as well.
Scouting the Ohio Bobcats
- Ohio University is on an absolute tear to begin the campaign, winning all seven of its games against the likes of UNC Wilmington, Binghamton, Eastern Kentucky, St. Bonaventure, Lamar, Cleveland State, and Purdue. The Bobcats have yet to play a true road game on the year and will not do so until December 16 at IUPUI.
- OU has been lighting up the stat sheet, ranking among the top-50 in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (1.13), fewest turnovers (97), field-goal percentage (46.7%), steals per game (12.4), three-point field-goal percentage (36.6%), scoring offense (84.3) and average margin of victory (23.9).
- Cece Hooks is the cog that drives the Ohio machine, as is hitting a mind-boggling 61% of her shots from the floor, snatching nearly four steals per game, and putting up 18.6 points per contest. Last season's MAC Freshman of the Year is an all-around threat as she paces the team in assists per game (4.9) and is second in rebounds (5.4) despite being a 5-8 guard.
- Junior guard Amani Burke is the reigning MAC East Athlete of the Week, after hitting four threes, contributing 17 points, grabbing five rebounds, picking up three steals and three assists all in Ohio's lone contest last week versus Cleveland State.
- The Bobcats do have height to go along with its stellar guard play, as 6-1 senior Olivia Bower is the top shot blocker in the Mid-American Conference, accumulating 10 blocks for a 1.67 average.
- When dialing long distance, Ohio usually calls Dominique Doseck who has sunk 43.6% of her long balls, making 2.43 per contest.
News and Notes:
Take A Chance On Me
In just two seasons and six games, junior forward
Chance Graham already ranks 13th on Coppin State's career rebounding list with 623. Graham is well on pace to shatter Rene' Doctor's ('95) career record of 908 rebounds. In just 64 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 (623)
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).
