BALTIMORE – Jalynda Salley and
Nailah Delinois both scored in double figures, but the Coppin State women's basketball team dropped its regular season finale at Morgan State, 63-54, on Sunday afternoon at Hill Field House.
A junior center from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Salley led the Eagles with 14 points and seven rebounds while Delinois, a redshirt senior from Sunrise, Fla., added 11 points with three 3-pointers, three rebounds and a block.
Alexandria Hamilton added nine points on 4-of-6 shooting as
Roni Richardson (eight points) and
Marley Grenway (six points) combined for 14 points and four 3-pointers off the bench.
Aliyah Lawson chipped in with six points and three assists while
Hope Evans dished out five assists.
Coppin started the game on a 9-2 run as Delinois hit back-to-back three's, followed by a triple by Hamilton to force a Morgan State timeout at the 7:25 mark. The Bears hit a three out of the stoppage which Hamilton answered with a layup just 17 seconds later.
Morgan followed with eight unanswered points to take a 13-11 lead which Salley countered with a jumper in the paint. The Bears retook the lead with a minute to go but Richardson buried a three with 12 ticks to go, giving the Eagles a 16-15 lead after the first quarter.
MSU scored the first five points of the second quarter but Coppin owned the remainder of the frame, outscoring the Bears, 16-6 in the final 7:27. Salley scored four-straight points to tie the score at 20-20, but with Morgan clinging to a 24-22 lead, Grenway hit a pair of threes, followed by buckets from Salley and Lawson to cap off a 10-0 run.
A basket by the hosts with just over a minute remaining cut Coppin's halftime advantage to 32-26.
Salley and Hamilton hit layups in the opening seconds of the third quarter, prompting a quick timeout by Morgan. A Bears miss as rebounded by Lawson, who found Evans, who then dished it to Delinois for another three, giving the Eagles its largest lead at 39-26 with 8:29 to play.
The Bears answered with a three and outscored CSU, 21-4 in the final 8:09 to take a 47-43 lead into the fourth.
Jayla Atmore (19 points) opened the final period with a three-point play for Morgan which Lawson answered with a pair of free throws to make it a 50-45 score with 9:21 to play. This would be the closest that Coppin (2-12, 2-10 MEAC) would get the rest of the way with Morgan (11-3, 8-2 MEAC) leading by as a many as 61-47.
