Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. – Coppin State sank some key free throws late in the game, and an untimely cold shooting streak by NSU allowed the Eagles to hold off an upset-minded Norfolk State women's basketball team, 67-62, Monday evening at the Physical Education Complex.

NSU fought well in a back-and-forth contest, taking as much as a seven-point lead midway through the second half. A three-and-a-half minute dry spell, though, late in the game doomed the Spartans. The Eagles, meanwhile, connected on 8-of-12 free throws in the last four minutes of play to seal the victory.

The win propelled Coppin State to 8-10 overall and 3-2 in conference play. NSU fell to 8-9, 3-3. The Eagles extended their win streak to 12 over NSU, although the five-point margin marked the closest yet during that 12-game stretch.

Sophomore Rae Corbo had a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while freshman Quineshia Leonard had her second straight solid game with 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior Whitney Long joined them in double figures with 12, all in the second half.

Jeanine Manley led Coppin State with 16 points, including a 10-of-15 effort from the free throw line, and added eight rebounds. Ashle Craig and Shawntae Payne tallied 13 points each, while Crystal Whittington posted nine points and 10 rebounds with a game-high five assists. The Eagles had 18 assists on their 20 baskets.

Coppin State hit 20-of-55 (36.4 percent) for the game, and better than 43 percent in the second half, while also posting a 7-of-24 stat line from beyond the arc. NSU, on the other hand, connected on 22-of-62 (35.5 percent) with just three baskets from beyond the arc.

NSU was led on the defensive side by sophomore Rachel Gordon, who grabbed 10 rebounds. NSU held the slight edge on the boards, 45-44, but used 17 offensive boards to post a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points. The Eagles held a 22-15 advantage in points off turnovers despite having just one less than NSU (21-20).

A pair of free throws by junior Recca Trice helped NSU take an early 6-2 lead to start the game, but an 8-0 run by the Eagles, keyed by several Spartan turnovers, gave Coppin State a 10-6 lead at the 14:24 mark. A trey by Corbo ended that Coppin State run, but another Eagle run, this time 12-2, stretched their lead to the largest of the half, 22-11, with 9:07 still to go.

The Spartans countered with an 11-2 run of their own, highlighted by a pair of layups from Corbo and Leonard, to cut the deficit to two, 24-22, with 3:28 left. A trey from Craig at the top of the arc ended that spurt and a nearly six-minute drought from the floor for the Eagles. Corbo scored the last four points of the half for the Spartans on a pair of buckets, and NSU found itself down by four at the break, 30-26.

Corbo had half of NSU's 26 points at the intermission.

A layup and 3-pointer from Long and two free throws from Gordon sparked a 7-0 run to start the second half for the Spartans. Another trey from Long and a traditional three-point play from senior Tyisha Bridges allowed NSU to take its biggest lead of the game, 43-36, at the 12:53 mark.

The Eagles, though, countered with an 11-3 run that lasted almost five minutes. Bridges ended that drought when she took a pass in stride in the paint and made a quick turnaround layup on a fastbreak with 7:58 left in the game. A big 3-pointer from Craig put Coppin State back up by two, 52-50, with 5:53 to go, and another three from Payne and four free throws by Manley pushed the Eagle lead to five, 59-54, at the under-4 media timeout.

NSU got no closer than five points the rest of the way as Coppin State, which had one field goal in the last four and a half minutes of the game, held on for the win.

Trice led NSU with four assists and three steals, and Bridges finished with nine points on the night. Leola Spotwood had 10 points and eight rebounds for Coppin State.

The Eagles hit 20-of-30 for the game from the free throw line, compared to 15-of-24 for the Spartans.

The first of two Battles of the Bay will take place next Saturday as the Spartans head to Hampton for a 4 p.m. contest.