PITTSBURGH – Defense and a few Eagle leads caught Pittsburgh off guard, but the Panthers found a way to defeat the Coppin State Women's basketball team 67-51 Tuesday night inside the Peterson Events Center.
The Eagles move to 4-4 on the season, while Pittsburgh improves to 8-2.
Jaia Alexander led the team with 16 points and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. She was the Eagles second leader in rebounds as she tallied nine boards, while
Jalynda Salley led the team with 10.
Aliyah Lawson was second leading scorer with 14 points as she hit four three pointers and led the team with six assists.
Colleen Bucknor was a great defensive force for the Eagles as she led the team in blocks (4), steals (3), and defensive rebounds (8), to go with six points.
Mossi Staples was another prominent performer for Coppin with nine points and three assists. As a team, Coppin was only shy of three rebounds to Pitt; a team that is ranked fourth in the nation in rebounds. The Eagles also shot 75% from the free-throw line, which exceeded the Panthers 63% from the line.
The Panthers opened the game on a 4-0 scoring run before Lawson hit a three to bring the
Eagles within one. Lawson went on to score six more points for the Eagles in the first quarter to tie the game at 9-9.
Pitt went ahead 13-9 in the second quarter before Alexander hit two free-throws to bring the Eagles within two. A three by Staples at the 8:26 mark gave the Eagles their first lead of the game. The Eagles trailed by five before going on a 5-0 scoring run to tie the game at 19 with 4:12 left in the half. A jumper by Alexander gave CSU a 22-21 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. CSU led by three before Pitt tied the game again at 24 all. The Panthers went into the half leading by two, 26-24.
Buckets from Salley and Alexander put the Eagles up two to start the third. Then a three from Lawson gave the Eagles their largest lead with 7:48 left in the quarter. Pitt then embarked on a 7-0 run, which was deflated by two made free-throws by Alexander. Bucknor scored a layup off of a put-back to place Coppin on another 6-0 run. Pitt went on a 7-0 run which led into the fourth quarter to place the Panthers up by 10. Staples hit a big three to cut Pitts' lead into single digits. After a layup by Alexander the Eagles were down six. Pitt ended on a 10-0 scoring run to seal the deal.
The Eagles are back in action Saturday, December 11 taking on Saint Peter's in Jersey City, New Jersey. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Yanitelli Recreational Life Center.
