Baltimore, Md. – Coppin State's women's basketball team will head to Norfolk, Va., for the MEAC Tournament and will face University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the Quarterfinals for a noon tip off on March 10. Fans can watch the game on ESPN plus. The winner of this matchup will face the winner of No. 1 Howard and No. 8 Delaware State.
Event Information
Teams: Coppin State Eagles (15-12, 9-5 MEAC) vs. University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (11-15, 7-7 MEAC)
Date & Time: Thursday, March 10 | 12:00 pm
Location: Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk Scope Arena)
History: Coppin leads the series 41-29. Both teams split 5-5 in the last 10 matchups and split the season series.
Coppin Contributors
Jaia Alexander was declared MEAC Player of the Year and first team all-conference. She finished the season leading the conference in scoring with 15 points per game, while placed top five in rebounds with 7.3 RPG. Aliyah Lawson made first team all-conference, ranking sixth with 12.3 points and 2.8 assists per game. She led the MEAC with 2.6 3-pointer's per game and shot the three with a 31.1 efficiency to place her second in three-point field goal percentage. Mossi Staples made third team all-conference. Staples placed in the top 10 in scoring with 10.7 points per game, while ranked second in steals (2.6), and fourth in assists, averaging 3.1. Jalynda Salley made all defensive team, as she ranked seventh in both blocks and rebounds. She finished the season with 7.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and one block per game, with a total of 148 rebounds and 22 blocks. She placed second in the MEAC in field-goal percentage, as she shot the ball with a 49.4 efficiency. Jewel Watkins made all-rookie team with 7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and totaled 16 blocks for the season. Head Coach Laura Harper was named Coach of the Year.
Climbing the Charts
Aliyah Lawson has made 154 career threes which places her second all-time in CSU history. Her 70 threes this season places her at third all-time in single season history. Jalynda Salley finished the season with 103 career blocks to place her third all-time at CSU Jaia Alexander's 35 point career high game against Delaware State on February 2 is tied for fourth in CSU history for most points scored in single game.
Last Time Out
Coppin faced Morgan for their last game of the season. After trailing the Bears for the entire first half, the Eagles went on a 16-0 run in the second half to pull within a single point with under 5 minutes remaining (43-32). Morgan ended up taking the game with a final score of 53-47. Aliyah Lawson led the team with 12 points, five rebounds, two steals. Jalynda Salley posted a double-double with 11 points and a whopping 16 rebounds. The loss for Coppin caused a three-way tie in the conference for first between Howard, Morgan, and Norfolk State, and bumped Coppin down to fourth place.
About the Matchup
Coppin (No. 4) and Maryland Eastern Shore (No.5) split the past two games this season. The Eagles blew the Hawks out in the first matchup for their largest scoring margin of conference play (86-57). Aliyah Lawson led with 22 points and five rebounds, and hit five threes, while Jaia Alexander had a double-double of 18 points and ten rebounds. Mossi Staples went for double digits with ten points, three assists, and Cortney Gardner had a career-high 11 points. In game two, the Hawks upset Coppin, 60-51.
Scouting the Hawks
The Hawks stand as the fifth seed in the MEAC led by Brooklyn Bailey with 8.6 points per game. Ariana Seawell made third team all-conference and all-rookie team with 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Mya Thomas totaled 26 points in both games against Coppin, including a double-double of 12 points, ten rebounds, as Adrienne Jones put up a season high 14 points in their victory at home. UMES upset Howard with a 66-59 victory, after two losses to Morgan and Howard. The Hawks concluded their season with a 66-48 win over Delaware State.
Up Next: The winner of the Coppin vs. Maryland Eastern Shore matchup will face the winner of Howard (No.1) vs. Delaware State (No.8) in the semifinal round on Friday, March 11 for a 2 pm tipoff. The opposite side of the bracket consists of No. 2 Norfolk State vs. No. 7 North Carolina Central and No. 3 Morgan State vs. No. 6 South Carolina State.
