Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State rallied from a nine-point second half deficit and overcame a poor free throw shooting effort in a 61-58 victory over the Norfolk State women's basketball team Monday evening at Joseph Echols Hall.

The Eagles held NSU to just five points in the last nine minutes of play but let the Spartans hang around, thanks to an 11-of-25 effort from the charity stripe. Coppin State (12-10, 7-2 MEAC) missed on all four free throws in the final minute of play while up by just three, but NSU (8-12, 3-6) failed to capitalize on three last-minute possessions.

Sophomore Rachel Gordon had another solid game, leading the way with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and a career-high 21 rebounds, two days after posting her previous career high of 19 boards against Morgan State. Gordon tied the Division I record for rebounds in a game set by Lawanda Newman on March 3, 2003 against North Carolina A&T.

Junior Batavia Owens tallied nine points and eight rebounds, while junior Recca Trice handed out six assists. The Spartans connected on just 21-of-57 from the floor (36.8 percent) with 24 turnovers, although the Eagles only hit 23-of-59 (39.0 percent) with 17 turnovers. Thanks to Gordon's big day, NSU had a 45-38 edge on the boards.

Shawntae Payne led Coppin State with 17 points to go along with five assists, while Jeanine Manley and Kyra Coleman added 14 points each. Manley also had a team-high nine rebounds, and Ashle Craig posted seven assists and five steals. Coppin State won its 13th straight game over NSU.

The Spartans jumped out to a 7-3 lead thanks to a pair of free throws from Owens and senior Whitney Long. A short time later, junior Marian Brooks scored all seven of her points in the game in less than a two-minute span for a 16-11 NSU lead at the 12:52 mark. The Spartans used a 7-0 run, capped by a layup from sophomore Carlon Chambers, to get their advantage to double digits, 23-13, with 7:13 still to go in the first half.

The Eagles came back, though, and used an 11-4 run over the next four minutes to cut the deficit down to three, 27-24, with 3:24 on the clock. That three-point margin held up at the half, as the Spartans went into the break holding a 31-28 lead.

Gordon had 10 rebounds in the first half, and Brooks led the way with seven points at the break. NSU scored 20 of its 31 points in the paint during that opening 20 minutes of play.

After Long and freshman Quineshia Leonard sank back-to-back jumpers for a 42-33 lead four minutes into the second half, Manley scored five points within the next two minutes of action to get Coppin State to within two, 44-42. Trice got the lead to seven, 49-42, when she got fouled on her jumper at the free throw line and then completed the three-point play with 10:53 to go.

Gordon's bucket down low put the Spartans up, 53-46, but the Eagles chipped away at the lead and eventually got it back for the first time since an early 3-2 score. Coppin State used a 9-0 run to take a two-point advantage, 55-53, with less than four minutes to play.

A long two from around 18 feet by Gordon cut the deficit to one, 59-58, but Coleman drove around her NSU defender with a little less than a minute left for the easy two. The Spartans then missed on both of their next possessions, even with Craig missing both of her free throws in between. Crystal Whittington also missed a pair from the charity stripe with six seconds left, but NSU turned the ball over trying to come down the court for the potential game-tying trey as time expired.

The Spartans were held to a 0-of-3 night from the 3-point line, the first time going without a trey since Jan. 15, 2011 at Hampton. Long added six points and now stands seven away from reaching 1,000 for her career.

NSU finished 16-of-24 from the free throw line and outscored Coppin State, 38-26, in points in the paint. The Eagles had an 11-2 edge in steals for the night.

NSU will head out to the Delmarva peninsula to take on Delaware State and UMES next Saturday and Monday. Game time at Delaware State on Saturday is set for 5 p.m.