BALTIMORE – Coppin State's women's basketball team showed great fight in a 98-60 loss to the Tennessee Lady Vols on Thursday night at PEC Arena.  The Eagles fall to 1-1 on the season while the Volunteers improved to 2-0.
 
Coppin put two players in double figures, led by sophomore Anya George with 13 points on a pair of 3-pointers and freshman Jayleen Jones who hit 3-of-4 from the field and 6-of-9 from the line.  Both George and Jones had two steals, as did freshman Bray'ana Miles who added three points, five rebounds and six assists while playing 39 minutes against a high-pressure defense.
 
Samari Taylor had another solid game inside with eight points and seven rebounds, as did freshman Arly Zapata with six points and five rebounds. Shanaii Gamble, Amber Howard and Seimone Newton chipped in with five points apiece with Gamble pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Eagles narrowly outshot Tennessee, 39.6% to 39.0% but the Vols held a 50-36 advantage on the glass and forced Coppin into 29 turnovers which translated into 14 second-chance points and 32 off turnovers.  Tennessee also hit 13 3-pointers and 25-of-30 (83.3%) from the line.
 
CSU stayed right with Tennessee early on, trailing just 12-10 after the first ten minutes despite falling behind 7-0 before George put the Eagles on the board with a three at the 4:42 mark. Coppin tied the score at seven and eight on free throws by Delaney Cooper and Gamble before Zapata cut the deficit to a single basket with a layup with 40 seconds left.
 
Tennessee built a double-digit lead early on in the second quarter, but Coppin didn't go away, going on a 9-1 run highlighted by back-to-back baskets by Newton who was making her collegiate debut after missing all of last season and the opener on Monday. Gamble also had a pair of layups during the stretch to get CSU within 27-22 with 6:35 remaining.
 
The Vols closed the half strong, building a 42-27 lead at the half and scored the first 13 points of the third to pull away.
 
Coppin returns to the court on Monday, November 9 when it travels to play Central Connecticut State in a 7 pm tipoff on NEC Front Row.