NORFOLK, Va. – Led by
Laila Lawrence with 19 points and
Angel Jones with 14 points, Coppin State's women's basketball team defeated #5 Maryland Eastern Shore, 61-55 on Thursday afternoon at the Scope Arena. The Eagles improved to 12-17 on the season and advanced to the MEAC Semifinals for the first time since 2016.
A junior from Lewisville, Texas, Lawrence proved why she was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team selection, hitting 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line to lead all scorers. Lawrence finished a rebound shy of a double-double and he 306 rebounds this season is tied for the fourth-most in CSU history.
Jones made 5-of-11 field goals and added four free throws while adding six rebounds and a career-high four steals after earning Second Team All-MEAC recognition.
Faith Blackstone, the league's Sixth Player of the Year and a First Team honoree, hit two big 3-pointers and finished with nine points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists.
Tiffany Hammond also hit a pair of threes for eight points, followed by
Mossi Staples with seven and
Tyler Gray with six. Hammond and Gray matched Blackstone with three assists.
With her performance, Staples moved into fifth on CSU's all-time list with 107 3-pointers and tenth with 248 free throws.
The Eagles outshot the Hawks, 41.3% to 36.2%, and came up big in the third quarter when they made 53.3% from the floor while holding UMES to 29.4% shooting. Coppin had 13 assists on 19 made field goals and hit 17-of-27 free throws to the Hawks' six assists and 10-of-12 free throws.
How it Happened
- Coppin scored the game's first six points, starting with a fee throw by Lawrence, a three by Staples and another layup by Lawrence.
- UMES bounced back with a 9-0 run before Hammond nailed her first of back-to-back threes.
- The Hawks answered Hammond's second triple with a jumper, but Hammond was fouled shooting a three as time expired in the quarter and drained two free throws to cut the deficit to 15-14 after one.
- Both teams traded baskets for much of the second period with the Hawks converting on a three-point play in the closing seconds to take a 27-25 halftime lead.
- Jones started the second half with a jumper to tie the score, which was answered by UMES, but the Eagles scored eight-straight, capped off by a three by Blackstone to go up 35-29 at the 5:35 mark.
- Eastern Shore pulled to within 38-36 before Lawrence hit a layup, followed by buckets from Gray and Jones to extend the lead back to eight.
- A jumper by the Hawks ended the third period and they got to within 46-42 before it looked like CSU would run away with it in the early parts of the fourth.
- Blackstone hit a three, followed by another layup by Lawrence to start a 10-2 run as the Eagles took their largest lead at 56-44 with 3:17 remaining.
- UMES made one last ditch effort and got to within 58-55 with 30 seconds left but the Eagles sealed the win as Jones and Staples combined for three free throws in the final 24 seconds.
Up Next: Coppin will face top-seeded Norfolk State at 12 pm on Friday, March 15 on ESPN+.
