NORFOLK, Va. (March 11, 2019)–Coppin State's Kaiya Coleman converted a layup with 0.03 seconds on the clock to give the 11th-seeded Lady Eagles a 50-48 win over No. 6 seed Morgan State Monday in opening round action of the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Morgan State's Ashia McCalla had deadlocked the closely-contested game, 48-48 when she made the first of two attempts from the charity stripe with 13.0 seconds to play. She missed the second attempt, however, and Chance Graham grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Coleman, who drove the distance for the winning basket.
Coppin earned a matchup with third-seeded Bethune-Cookman on Thursday at 12 p.m. The Lady Eagles improved to 5-24 on the season, while Morgan State ended its campaign at 10-21.
Coleman finished with 15 points and three steals for Coppin State, which also got 11 points and a team-high six assists from Brooke Fields. Graham added seven points and a game-high 15 rebounds in the win for the Lady Eagles and third-year head Coach DeWayne Burroughs.
"To start, it's a relief for me because it's my third year as head coach, and it's my first win in the MEAC Tournament, so it's huge for me," Burroughs said. "And it's big for our program."
He added, "Brook Fields, Kaiya Coleman and Chance Graham did a fantastic job in helping us get the win."
The Lady Bears were paced by McCalla with 14 points. Naomi Bolasingh and Adre'onia Coleman contributed 10 each for Coach Ed Davis' squad.
Morgan State entered the final period down, 39-32 after Coppin State outscored the higher seed, 19-8 in the third, after trailing 24-20 at the half. The Lady Bears turned up the defensive pressure and battled back to take a 47-46 lead on Kayla Horn's three-point play with 2:30 to play. Two free throws by Graham put Coppin State ahead, 48-47 before McCalla's free throw tied the contest with 13.0 showing to set up the finish.
"A couple of turnovers by us down the stretch were the difference," Davis said. "We kind of lost our confidence a bit. But I'm proud of my team. We played most of the year with eight players, sometimes, just six or seven. I give them kudos for the way they fought."
The Lady Bears scored the final six points in a tight first half to take a 24-20 lead at the break. There were six ties and five lead changes in the first two quarters.
Coleman had six of her total in the opening half to lead the Lady Bears, while Bolasingh and McCalla had five each. For Coppin, Oloyede, Salley and Coleman had four points each at the break.
Salley sandwiched a Morales layup with two short jumpers to put Coppin ahead 4-2 with 8:30 on the first period clock; however, the Lady Bears scored seven straight points to build a 9-4 advantage when McCalla converted the second of two free throw attempts with 6:10 left in the period, which ended in an 11-putall tie.
The Lady Bears began the second stanza with a 5-1 run, including a three-pointer by Bolasingh, to build a 16-12 cushion at 3:47 of the period. Six straight points by the Lady Eagles in the seesaw affair, put the underdogs out front 18-16 at the 3:39 mark, but Morgan scored eight of the next 10 points for its 24-20 halftime lead.
