Coppin Women Hoops Finish out Non-Conference Season at Richmond

BALTIMORE- The Coppin State University women's basketball team will finish out the year in Virginia competing against Richmond tomorrow, Wednesday, December 29.
 
Event Information
Opponent: Richmond (8-4)
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 29 |6 pm
Location: Richmond, Va. (Robins Center)
Media: Listen| ESPN+ (Watch)|Live Stats
 
Opening Tip
The Richmond and Coppin series first begin during the 1986-87 season. The Spiders lead the all-time series 0-2. The last meeting took place December 20, 2000 and Richmond won 78-64.

Last Time Out
Mossi Staples and Aliyah Lawson led all scorers for the Eagles in a tough battle with No. 6 Maryland on Tuesday, December 21. The Eagles fell 98-52. Staples led the Eagles with 16 points and shot 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Lawson was the Eagles second leading scorer with 13 points, while hitting three three-pointers.  Jalynda Salley grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and tallied six points, while Hope Evans led the team in assists with three.  As a team, the Eagles played a physical game and stayed in attack mode.

Quick Fun Facts
*It was a back-to-back victory for Lawson winning the MEAC Co-Player of the week for a second week in a row on December 16. Lawson made a career-high seven 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 21 points in a 68-43 home win over Winthrop, while also grabbing four steals on the defensive end and accounting for three rebounds.
*Aliyah Lawson was named MEAC Co-Player of the week on December 14 after averaging 15.3 points across three games for the Eagles that week, to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
*Jaia Alexander was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week on December 7. Alexander winning made this the first time the Eagles have won back-to-back Player of the Week honors since 2017.
*Mossi Staples was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 30 after helping the Eagles defeat Saint Francis pouring in 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
*Alexander and Colleen Bucknor earned MEAC Weekly awards on November 16. Alexander was named the Player of the Week after averaging 24 points and 7.3 rebounds against LaSalle and William & Mary. Bucknor won Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 7.7 rebounds.

Quick Notes
Alexander leads the team in points averaging 16.1 with 70 rebounds, followed by Aliyah Lawson (12.5) and Mossi Staples (8.7). Colleen Bucknor leads the team in rebounds with 76 and is tied for second on the teams in blocks (11). Jalynda Salley also has 11 blocks. Staples leads the team in steals (25) followed by Lawson with 11.

Coppin Contributors
A Second Team All-MEAC selection last season, Aliyah Lawson finished second in the conference with 14.5 points per game while ranking third with 38 3-point field goals.  A native of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, Lawson also finished with 4.5 rebounds per game to go with 24 assists and 17 steals. Lawson received three MEAC Player of the Week awards, scored at least 20 points in four games and reached double figures in 12 games.

Lawson scored a career-high 27 points with five 3-pointers to go with a career-high 12 rebounds for her first-ever double-double against Morgan State. In her two seasons at Coppin, Lawson ranked sixth in CSU history in 3-point field goals (84) and free throw percentage (72.4%).

Jalynda Salley received Third Team All-MEAC and All-Defensive Team honors last season after averaging 9.3 points per game while ranking fourth in the MEAC in rebounds (8.8) and seventh in blocks (18).  A native of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Salley led the conference with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game which ranked 18th nationally.  In MEAC games, Salley averaged 10.0 points and 9.6 rebounds with a pair of double doubles.
Salley has recorded 84 career blocks which moves her to seventh in CSU history.

Flying through the Records
* Lawson is now second the CSU record books in 3-point field goals made (138) passing Genesis Lucas.
* Salley also has moved up in the CSU record books in blocks currently with 93 making her fifth on the list and passing Omaah Tayong.
*Alexander is 526 points shy from the 1000-point club.

Eagles in NCAA Rankings (Top 50)
*Lawson is ranked 17th in 3-pt attempts, 33rd in 3-pt field goals made, 49th in 3-pt field goal/game.

Eagle Returners
Returning from last season is Alexandria Hamilton, Aliyah Lawson, Hope Evans, Nailah Delinois, and Jalynda Salley.

New to the Nest
The Eagles welcomed in 10 student-athletes this season including: Mossi Staples transfer from Northeastern, Nadjy Tyler, Jewel Watkins, Jaia Alexander transfer from Butler, Colleen Bucknor transfer from UCF, Khya Jenkins and Cortney Gardner.

Scouting Richmond
The Spiders defeated Southern Miss 87-75 last Monday to close out the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament.  Three Spiders scored in double-figures, led by Siobhan Ryan who paced all scorers in the game with a career-high 25 points.

Richmond is led by Addie Budnik who is averaging 13.8 points followed by Kate Klimkiewicz with 11.7. Grace Townsend leads in assists (67). Budnik also leads in blocks (39) and Klimkiewicz in steals (26).