BALTIMORE – Led by
Niyah Gaston who hit six 3-pointers for a career-high 18 points, the Coppin State women's basketball team routed South Carolina State, 84-38, on Monday night at PEC Arena. The Eagles improved to 11-7 overall and 2-0 in the MEAC while the Bulldogs fell to 1-17 on the year and 0-2 in league play.
Checking the Box Score
- Gaston hit 6-of-12 from behind the arc to lead all players in scoring as Coppin had five players score in double figures. The sophomore from Suffolk, Va., had five threes in the first half which had already surpassed her previous high of 12 which she first recorded in the MEAC Semifinals last season against Norfolk State.
- Angel Jones and Cire Worley added 16 points apiece while dishing out three assists apiece, followed by Laila Lawrence with 13 points, four rebounds, a career-high seven assists, three blocks and three steals in just 23 minutes.
- Freshman Mickelle Lowry scored a season-high 11 points while five other players found the bottom of the net.
- Dani McTeer and Tyler Gray both had four assists while Khya Jenkins and Kylah Moore had two dimes apiece. Gray also had three steals to match Lawrence for a team high.
- Coppin made 50.8% of its shots from the floor with a season-high ten 3-pointers.
- The Eagles were credited with 25 assists on the night, the third-highest total in school history, just shy of the school-record of 27 set against Eastern on November 28, 1987, and the PEC record of 26 against Cheyney on November 28, 2011.
- CSU's 46-point margin of victory was its largest since November 9, 2012, when it defeated Cheyney, 97-41.
- South Carolina State got a team-high 14 points from Shaunice Reed.
How it Happened
- Coppin scored the first nine points of the game which included Gaston's first triple at the 4:58 mark.
- South Carolina State got on the board with a jumper 30 seconds later before Gaston answered with another three and the Eagles led 16-8 after the first.
- Late in the second, Worley hit a three, followed by back-to-back trifectas from Gaston, extending the advantage to 36-17 before the Bulldogs closed the half with a jumper just seconds later.
- The Eagles kept increasing their lead, running their advantage to 64-29 heading into the fourth, using an 8-0 run midway through to put the game out of reach.
- Worley hit back-to-back transition layups to start the fourth and she added another after Lowry hit a pair of threes.
- Gaston hit her final three of the game with 1:17 left in the game, giving Coppin it's largest lead of the game at 84-34.
Up Next: Coppin will be on the road for its next three games, starting with Norfolk State on January 11 and Howard two nights later.
