BALTIMORE – Cire Worley hit a 3-pointer with 1:07 left in regulation, giving the Coppin State women's basketball team a 69-66 lead, and CSU held on to win by that score on Saturday afternoon at PEC Arena. Coppin improved to 10-7 on the year with the victory in the MEAC opener while NC Central fell to 2-13.
Checking the Box Score
- Angel Jones led Coppin with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Tiffany Hammond and Laila Lawrence added 13 points apiece.
- Jones' eight rebounds and seven assists were both career highs.
- Worley added eight points, followed by Dani McTeer with six, Arielle-Vadrelle Belinga with four and both Tyler Gray and Niyah Gaston with three points apiece.
- Hammond and McTeer both had seven rebounds while Lawrence, who battled foul trouble, finished with five rebounds, two blocks and five steals in just 23 minutes.
- Hammond and Worley were both credited with three assists while Gray and Hammond combined for five more steals.
- NC Central got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Morgan Callahan, and outshop Coppin 41.4% to 37.3%.
- Coppin hit eight triples compared to six for NC Central and did so at a 42.1% clip.
How it Happened
- Coppin had control throughout the game, but NC Central took its first lead of the contest with 4:04 left in regulation at 64-62 as part of a 12-2 run. Central added a transition bucket after a CSU turnover to add to the lead with 3:35 remaining.
- Lawrence responded with a layup, cutting the margin to 66-64 and tied it up with just under two minutes remaining with a jumper.
- After forcing a turnover, Worley hit what was the game-winner off a feed from Hammond and Coppin forced NC Central into two turnovers and a miss in the final minutes.
- Coppin led by as many as 18-7 in the first quarter when Hammond buried a three, followed by back-to-back jumpers by her and Jones as the 4:36 mark.
- Central was able to cut the deficit to within five before the half, but Jones scored Coppin's last seven points of the frame and gave the Navy & Gold a 40-32 lead at the break.
- CSU was once again able to open up a big lead at 51-38 with 5:03 left in the third before Central scored 11 straight points to pull within a bucket.
- Hammond and Gaston stopped the drought with a pair of threes before Central hit one just before going into the fourth.
Up Next: Coppin is scheduled to host South Carolina State in a 5:30 pm tipoff on Monday, January 6 which will air on ESPN+ and WNST 1570 AM.
