PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Niyah Gaston put up a career-high 18 points and
Laila Lawrence posted another double-double, leading the Coppin State women's basketball team to a 66-61 victory at Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday night at the Hytche Center. The Eagles improved to 14-9 overall and 5-2 in the MEAC while the Hawks fell to 8-13 on the year and 3-3 in league play.
Checking the Box Score
- Gaston hit five 3-pointers and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to lead all players in scoring. She added four rebounds and a pair of steals as well.
- Lawrence finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with two assists, three blocks and a steal.
- Angel Jones and Cire Worley added nine points apiece, followed by Tiffany Hammond with eight, Dani McTeer with five and Mickelle Lowry with three.
- Jones led all players with five assists as she climbs the MEAC leaderboard in the category.
- Hammond made a pair of shots from downtown, giving her a MEAC-leading 51 on the season which is just one off her total from last season which was the 8th-most in CSU history.
- Coppin outshot UMES, 38.6% to 30.8% and hit 11 3-pointers on a 35.5% shooting clip.
- The Hawks made just five 3-pointers but hit 16-of-24 free throws compared to 11-of-18 for the Eagles.
How it Happened
- Coppin rallied from an early 8-2 deficit to retake the lead at 9-8 following a three by McTeer at the 5:04 mark of the first.
- Hammond answered a Hawks bucket with a three before McTeer added another jumper followed by a three by Gaston to put CSU up, 17-12.
- Worley hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, giving the Eagles a 19-14 lead after one.
- Gaston hit back-to-back threes to start the second and the Eagles held their largest lead of the half at 36-23 following a three by Jones with 1:06 remaining.
- UMES scored five-straight to start the second half before Gaston and Worley responded with threes, and Hammond hit another with 5:20 remaining to put CSU on top, 45-29.
- The Hawks pulled to within 52-41 with a jumper just before time expired and they scored eight straight points to start the fourth to get within 52-49 with 7:17 to play.
- Worley and Lawrence stopped the drought with a pair of buckets to increase Coppin's advantage to seven.
- As UMES kept fighting back, Coppin went to Lawrence who scored five points in the closing minutes and Gaston hit three free throws to keep Coppin on top.
Up Next: Coppin will be off until Saturday, February 15 when it travels to face NC Central in a 2 pm tipoff on ESPN+. Two nights later, CSU will take on South Carolina State in Orangeburg.
