South Carolina State Holds Off Women’s Hoops’ Rally

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Despite 21 points by Brooke Fields and a double-double by Chance Graham, Coppin State's women's basketball team dropped a 60-55 decision at MEAC rival South Carolina State Monday night at S-H-M Memorial Center.
 
The Basics

• Final Score: Coppin State 55, South Carolina State 60
• Records: Coppin State (2-21, 2-9 MEAC) / South Carolina State (12-12, 5-5 MEAC)
• Location: Orangeburg, S.C. (S-H-M Memorial Center)
• Series History: Coppin State Leads, 43-28

 
How It Happened
 
First Quarter

• The teams traded baskets early on with Chance Graham and Brooke Fields tying the game at two and four with early layups.
• A 3-pointer by South Carolina State was answered by another layup by Fields but the Bulldogs closed out the period with a 10-2 run to lead, 17-8.

Second Quarter

• Jalynda Salley key an early run by the Eagles, cutting the deficit to 24-21 at the 4:17 mark but South Carolina State extended its advantage with a 10-4 run.
• A three by Fields with 1:23 remaining was the final bucket of the half as the Bulldogs took a 34-28 lead into the break.

Third Quarter

•  Both teams played suffocating defense in the third but the Bulldogs got the upper-hand, outscoring Coppin, 11-6 in the period to take a 45-34 lead into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• South Carolina State took its largest lead of the game with an early bucket but Graham answered the hosts three-straight times to keep the Eagles in it.
• Graham's third bucket of the quarter started a 12-3 run, to make it a 54-50 ballgame with 1:54 to go.
• The Bulldogs extended their lead to 57-50 with 32 ticks left but a three by Kaiya Coleman got the lead back to just four points.
• CSU immediately fouled and SCSU sunk two free throws which was then answered by a Fields layup with 23 seconds remaining.
• The Bulldogs made 1-of-2 free throws on their end and CSU missed three-straight shots in the final ten seconds coming up short.

Inside the Numbers

• Brooke Fields led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go with four rebounds and five assists.  It was her fifth-straight game with at least 20 points and she has reached that mark in nine of the last ten games.
• Chance Graham notched her 13^th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
• Graham moved up the CSU charts in both categories and now stands third in school-history with 830 rebounds and 16^th with 944 points.
• Kaiya Coleman came off the bench to score ten points while chipping in with four rebounds and two assists.
• Jalynda Salley added six points and eight rebounds.
• South Carolina State was led by Rhein Beamon's 15 point 12 rebound performance and it outshot Coppin, 37.9% to 36.5%. 

Who's Next?

• Coppin State returns to action on Saturday, February 16 when it makes the short trip to Maryland Eastern Shore for a 2 pm tipoff.