NORFOLK, Va. – Tiffany Hammond scored a season-high 16 points and
Laila Lawrence posted her 20
th double-double of the season, leading Coppin State's women's basketball team to a 57-48 victory over North Carolina Central in the MEAC Quarterfinals on Thursday at Scope Arena. CSU improved to 18-13 on the season, its most victories since the 2011-12 season when the program went 20-12.
Checking the Box Score
- Hammond buried four 3-pointers, giving her 67 for the season and 119 during her tenure at Coppin. Those rank sixth in CSU single-season history and fourth in the program's all-time history, respectively.
- Hammond also came up big on the defensive end with three steals and a block.
- Lawrence, the MEAC's back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year, was also in double figures with 15 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists.
- Angel Jones added nine points to go with a career-high ten rebounds while dishing out five assists.
- Dani McTeer added seven points and seven rebounds, followed by Tyler Gray with four points, four rebounds and three assists in her return to the lineup after missing the last ten games.
- NC Central narrowly outshot Coppin, but CSU held a 48-27 advantage on the glass with 20 offensive rebounds, leading to 14 second-chance points.
- Coppin also forced 24 turnovers which turned into 23 points.
How it Happened
- Jones started the game hot for Coppin, hitting a pair of midrange shots to give the Navy & Gold an early 4-0 lead.
- NC Central responded with three-straight buckets before Niyah Gaston, who hails from nearby Suffolk, Va., buried a three to put CSU back on top.
- Arielle-Vadrelle Belinga added a layup before Central regained the lead with a 6-0 run.
- Kylah Moore, who is also a local from Chesapeake, Va., hit a free throw to close the period, cutting Central's lead to 12-10.
- Central extended its lead to as many as 22-14 with 5:31 left in the half, but Coppin scored seven-straight, starting with a three and a layup by Hammond to close within 22-21 at the half.
- Lawrence and McTeer opened the third with a pair of field goals, but the teams then traded buckets and Central retook the advantage, 30-28 at the 6:25 mark.
- Hammond sunk another three with 5:16 remaining in the quarter, giving Coppin back the lead which it held onto the remainder of the game.
- After a jumper by Jones, NC Central reduced the deficit to a single point, but Coppin extended the lead to 42-34 following a three by Hammond and a transition layup from Lawrence.
- Gray and McTeer hit jumpers to start the fourth to give Coppin a 46-36 lead, but an 8-0 Central run cut that advantage to two with 3:22 remaining.
- Gray stopped the drought with another jumper, and following a free throw by Jones, McTeer nailed a corner three with 1:41 left which was the dagger for NCCU.
- Lawrence and Jones combined for five free throws in the final 70 seconds to seal the win.
Up Next: Coppin heads to its second-straight MEAC Semifinal where it'll face No. 1 Norfolk State at 12:00 pm on Friday, March 14.
