Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – A cold shooting night for the Norfolk State women's basketball team and a big second half for Coppin State was the Spartans' ultimate demise in a 64-50 loss Monday night at Joseph Echols Hall.

Despite carrying a four-point lead at the half - including an 11-point lead less than five minutes before the break – NSU was unable to hold that advantage in the second half. Coppin State outscored NSU by 18 points in the second half, shooting better than 50 percent to improve to 11-16 overall and 8-7 in the MEAC.

The Spartans fell to 9-17 overall, 2-13 in the league, after hitting just 28.4 percent for the game on 19-of-67 shooting. NSU hit 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc, but just 12-of-45 (26.7 percent) from inside the 3-point line.

Junior Whitney Long led NSU with 13 points, while sophomore Recca Trice added 11 points and three assists. Sophomore Batavia Owens and freshman Rachel Gordon each tallied 11 boards. The Spartans had 47 rebounds as a team, compared to 51 for the Eagles. NSU got 33 of its 50 points off the bench.

Kyra Colman notched a double-double for Coppin State with 20 points and 11 boards, while Larrisa Carter nearly joined her with a game-high 13 rebounds and nine points. Dawnnae Roberts had 15 points, and Shawntae Payne joined her in double figures with 12.

After a dismal first half in which the Eagles connected on just 22.2 percent of their basket attempts, Coppin State hit 53.3 percent in the second stanza and 36.4 percent all-together on 24-of-66 shooting. The Eagles also hit 7-of-16 from beyond the arc but just 9-of-19 from the free throw line.

NSU held a 10-0 advantage in fastbreak points, while Coppin State outscored the Spartans by 12 points in the paint.

A poor first half for both teams started off worse for NSU, as the Spartans missed their first 11 shots before Long drained a 3-pointer at the 12:23 mark. NSU found itself down by just three at that point, 8-5. That trey from Long began a 12-0 run for the Spartans that ended with a 14-8 lead for NSU.

Tied 8-8, senior Genor Dalton put the Spartans on top as she got fouled on a quick fastbreak and sank the free throw to complete the 3-point play with 10:32 left in the half. Trice sank a 3-pointer a little more than a minute later to cap the NSU scoring outburst.

The Spartans then scored the next seven points, again capped by a shot from downtown, this time from freshman Rae Corbo, to complete an extended 19-2 run that turned what had been an 8-2 deficit into a 21-10 lead for NSU. The Eagles scored just one basket in more than nine minutes during the run.

The Spartans, though, hit a cold streak after that, scoring just one more basket in the last four and a half minutes of the half as Coppin State cut the lead to four, 24-20, heading into the break.

Despite shooting just 26.7 percent in the first stanza, the Spartans found themselves with the lead, thanks to a 22.2 percent shooting clip for the Eagles. NSU went 4-of-9 from long range in the first half and forced 11 Coppin State turnovers.

The Eagles held a 31-22 rebounding advantage at the break, including 15 offensive boards.

NSU made it 28-20 early in the second half by a layup by sophomore Marian Brooks, but a 9-2 run by the Eagles cut the deficit to one, 30-29. The Eagles converted on a traditional 3-point play and then added another basket in less than 25 seconds to get within one.

A trey from Roberts gave the Eagles the lead back at 34-32 with 13:42 to go, but Trice found the bottom of the net on the other end of the court to take the lead back, 35-34. A 10-2 run for Coppin State extended into a bigger 17-4 run that lasted five and a half minutes and gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game, 53-42.

A trey from Long cut the deficit to six, 56-50, with 2:43 left in the game, but Coppin State held the Spartans scoreless the rest of the way for the victory.

NSU will wrap-up the regular season Thursday by hosting North Carolina A&T at home on Senior Day.