Baltimore, Md. – NSU suffered just its second loss in conference play on Saturday, falling on the road to Coppin State, 56-48. Mahoganie Williams led the Spartans with 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
It took a bit of time for either team to find a rhythm offensively. Neither squad scored for the game's first two and a half minutes, until NSU's Niya Fields broke the tie with a steal and score.
 
Layups by Deja Francis, Crystal White, and Williams gave the Spartans a 9-7 lead after the first quarter.  The two teams shot a combined 7-of-33 (21.2%) from the field in the opening period.
 
Williams picked up where she left off in the second quarter, converting a layup for the Spartans in the first minute. Back-to-back Fields scores, including one from an offensive rebound, put the Spartans ahead by seven late in the second quarter. CSU trimmed the lead to one, but Williams made a spinning layup at the buzzer to give NSU a 21-18 edge at the break.
 
The Spartans lead reached nine at three different points in the third quarter, but CSU's Aliyah Lawson and Jewel Watkins both knocked down three-pointers to shift the momentum in the Eagles' favor. A 9-0 CSU run tied the game up, but Fields made a driving layup to regain the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Francis received a technical foul early in the fourth quarter, which the Eagles converted on at the free throw line. Francis would be assessed her second technical foul late in the final minute, ejecting her from the contest.
 
With the Spartans facing a six-point deficit, Williams scored three points the old-fashioned way, making a layup through contact and hitting the ensuing free throw. NSU's full-court pressure began to show its teeth, forcing two consecutive 10-second backcourt violations as the Spartans regained a one-point edge.
 
But that was the last time the Spartans would lead on Saturday. Aliyah Lawson hit another deep ball to put the Eagles in front, before hitting a floater a minute later. A layup from Alexander forced the Spartans to call timeout, down six with under two minutes to play.
 
Alexander hit the final free throws for CSU, as the Spartans dropped to 12-9, 8-2 in the MEAC. NSU will stay in Baltimore for a matchup with Morgan State on Monday at 5 p.m.