Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Some cold shooting late in the second half doomed the Norfolk State women's basketball team in a 64-55 loss to Coppin State Monday evening at the Physical Education Complex.

Numerous turnovers hurt NSU (8-10 overall, 1-7 MEAC) in both halves, many of them on travel calls, as the Spartans committed 29 total turnovers for the game. Despite shooting worse from the floor, Coppin State (7-12, 4-4) took advantage of 20 more free throw attempts than the Spartans.

Junior Tyisha Bridges led the team with 14 points, including a 7-of-7 effort from the free throw line, while junior Sarah Daily knocked down 13 points with four rebounds and two assists. Freshman Rae Corbo added eight points with six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Marian Brooks also had six rebounds to go along with six points, as NSU held a 39-34 advantage on the boards.

Despite missing three of its top five scorers due to suspension, Coppin State got scoring efforts from the trio of Larrisa Carter, Shawntae Payne and Kyra Coleman. Carter had game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds, while Payne totaled 17 points with four rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Coleman, meanwhile, had 15 points and seven boards as the trio combined for 50 of the team's 64 points.

NSU held the Eagles to a 34.5 percent shooting clip (19-of-55), including 4-of-15 from the 3-point line. The Spartans shot 37 percent on 20-of-54 shooting and were also 4-of-15 from long range. NSU hit 11-of-12 from the free throw line but had just two attempts in the second half while the Eagles had 20 total second-half attempts.

Playing with just 10 players, the Spartans held a 16-3 advantage in second-chance points despite pulling just one more offensive board than Coppin State. NSU, however, had just three steals as the Eagles committed 16 turnovers in the game.

NSU had three turnovers in their first three possessions before freshman Rachel Gordon's traditional 3-point play got NSU on the board nearly two minutes into the game. The Eagles stretched the lead up to five at 12-7 before the second of two 3-pointers by Daily made it 14-13 Coppin State with 13:42 on the clock.

A 7-0 run by the Eagles in less than two minutes gave them a comfortable 23-15 lead, but after Coppin State pushed it to nine to 26-17, NSU used a 13-4 run over the next three and a half minutes late in the half to get back into the game. Bridges got fouled down low and completed the 3-point play to make it 30-28 with 2:16 to go.

Each team sank a pair of free throws with under two minutes remaining as Coppin held a two-point advantage, 32-30, heading into the half. Bridges had 10 points for the Spartans, all within the last 3:38 of the half, as she scored 10 of NSU's last 11 points in the half.

Payne totaled 15 in the first half for the Eagles. The teams shot a combined 20-of-22 from the free throw line in that first stanza.

Daily jumped out in the second half, scoring seven of the game's first nine points in that second stanza as NSU took its first lead of the game and then went ahead, 37-34, at the 17:35 mark. Down 41-40, the Eagles scored six straight points to push the score to 46-41 before Bridges was able to drive down low and make an off-balance layup with 12:01 on the clock.

Corbo's fastbreak layup following a Bridges steal near the sideline got NSU to within one, 48-47. A pass from Corbo over the top of her defender allowed senior Genor Dalton to sink an easy layup to tie it at 51-51 with 5:53 left, as the Spartans held the Eagles to without a field goal for a six-minute stretch.

However, NSU failed to convert on the offensive end for more than five and a half minutes right near the end of the game as Coppin State held on for the 64-55 win.

NSU will turn right back around and hit the road again, beginning with UMES Saturday at 5:30 p.m.