MIAMI, Fla. – Faith Blackstone and
Laila Lawrence combined for 42 points as Coppin State's women's basketball team defeated Florida International University, 70-66 on Saturday afternoon at Ocean Bank Convocation Center. The Eagles improve to 2-3 on the season while the Panthers fall to 2-2.
Blackstone went for a career-high 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting along with 8-of-12 free throws while Lawrence tallied 20 points on 9-of-13 field goals and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. Lawrence also had a game-high four assists .
In a return to her hometown,
Colleen Bucknor added a season-high 11 points and four rebounds. The Eagles also got six points apiece from
Tyler Gray and
Tiffany Hammond along with five points from
Mossi Staples.
Coppin narrowly outshot FIU, 45.3% to 44.1% but made 18 free throws to the Panthers' six. The Eagles also forced 22 turnovers which turned into 24 points.
How it Happened
- After playing to a tie in the first quarter, Coppin put together a big second quarter and took a 37-26 lead at the half.
- After a jumper by FIU early in the second cut CSU's advantage to a single point, Bucknor converted on a three-point play to go back up four.
- The Panthers kept it closed before a layup by Lawrence and four-straight from Blackstone increased the advantage to 29-21 with 2:20 remaining in the half.
- Gray knocked down a free throw before Bucknor drove in for a layup at the buzzer to give the Navy & Gold a double-digit lead at intermission.
- FIU roared back in the third quarter, scoring ten-straight to start it, and gained an eight-point lead after the period.
- A jumper by the Panthers opened the fourth, giving the hosts their largest lead of the game, but Coppin went on a 7-0 run to pull back to a single possession.
- Blackstone hit four-straight free throws to tie the score at 58 with 5:22 remaining in regulation before back-to-back buckets by Lawrence and another from Gray put CSU up, 64-58 at the 2:52 mark.
- The Panthers banked in a deep three with ten seconds left before Gray hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Up Next: Coppin heads back North to play at Pittsburgh at 11:00 am on Tuesday, November 21.
