BALTIMORE – Cire Worley matched a career-high with 15 points and five Eagles scored in double figures as the Coppin State women's basketball team defeated Kent State, 67-61 in overtime on Thursday night at PEC Arena. The Eagles have won six of the last eight games and improved to 8-5 on the season while the Golden Flashes fell to 6-5.
Checking the Box Score
- Worley led all players in scoring, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor with three 3-pointers while also making both of her free throws. She also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
- Angel Jones and Laila Lawrence had 13 points apiece, followed by Tiffany Hammond with 12 and Arielle-Vadrelle Belinga with ten.
- Lawrence had a team-high seven rebounds to go with three assists and a pair of blocks as Jones dished out five assists to go with three steals.
- Tyler Gray also chipped in with four points, six rebounds, five assists and a team-high four steals.
- Coppin narrowly outshot Kent State, 37.3% to 35.4% and hit two more free throws than Kent State. Sixteen of Coppin's 25 made baskets were assisted.
- Kent State outrebounded Coppin, 53-34 and had 13 second-chance points but the Eagles forced the guests into 22 turnovers with a season-high 13 steals.
How it Happened
- Kent State scored the first five points of the game before a jumper by Hammond got Coppin on the board at the 7:52 mark.
- Hammond tied it up with a three before Kent State regained the advantage, but Jones hit a pair of field goals in the final minute to lead 10-9 after the first.
- The Eagles extended their advantage to as many as 29-19 in the second period, using a 6-0 run with a three by Worley and a transition layup by Belinga to put some distance between the teams.
- The Golden Flashes scored in the closing seconds of the half to go into the break, trailing, 29-22.
- Coppin held a double-digit lead for most of the third with Hammond burying another three with 41 seconds to go, giving the Eagles their largest lead at 51-37 going into the fourth.
- KSU came back in a flash in the fourth, going on an 11-0 run to pull within three with 5:11 remaining, and closed regulation with six-straight points.
- Head Coach Jermaine Woods called timeout with 13 seconds left and an open three rimmed out, sending the game into overtime for the third time in the last four CSU contests.
- Both teams missed shots on their opening possession of overtime, and following a turnover, Worley put Coppin on top with a layup.
- Worley added another layup to give Coppin a 62-58 lead at the 2:40 mark, and both Jones and Belinga added two more buckets to give the Eagles an eight-point lead and sealing the win.
Up Next: Coppin returns to the court on Saturday, December 21 at 1:00 pm at Virginia which airs on ACCNX.
