by Keith Henry
The Coppin State Lady Eagles still have a lot to learn for a young team. There were some bright spots, but consistency wasn't one of them as the VCU Rams came back from 12 down to defeat CSU 71-62 at the PEC last night.
CSU head coach Derek Brown stated, "We got to go hard. We got to play hard. That's how we're going to win. We did that in the first half. But then VCU focused in better in the second half. I think that was the game right there. They made some shots that they didn't make in the first half because of their focus. They picked up their intensity and we sorta stayed the same. VCU came back on us early in the second half. Now, we got to put our foot to the pedal and we just got to go harder."
Coppin center Jeanine Manley had near zero impact in the game. Manley got in foul trouble early, especially with a couple of charging fouls. VCU (3-3) had a lot to do with that as well because their defense targeted her all night long, limiting the junior to just three points and rebounds respectively in the game. VCU head coach Beth Cunningham said, "We were very concerned with (Manley) coming in. I think she's obviously such a big inside presence for them. I knew that she can cause some problems for us. I thought we did a good job for the most part understanding where she was. Understanding where our help needed to be at and try to take her out of it because when you got a kid like that inside, it certainly can change the complexion of a game if she gets going."
Coach Brown seemed to lay down a challenge to Manley saying, "You know we got Jeanine under there and this team, I can point people out. I don't mean it in a derogatory way, but if she's our horse and we've got to go to her. We got to try to get the ball into her, she's going to have to score. It's not like we have a whole bunch of people that can just score the basketball. Certain times of the game, we got to stick that ball into her and she has got to come through."
In the first half, Coppin State (2-5) stepped up nicely on defense, giving the Rams a lot of problems inside. VCU had a few shot clock violations and mishandled the ball a lot under the Lady Eagles' pressure. That led to a few easy baskets, especially from the three-point line where they made 4 of 8 in the first 20 minutes. Shawntae Payne scored five of her team high12 points and had four assists to help lead the charge. Coppin led 33-22 at the half.
CSU forward Larissa Carter said about the first half play, "I think we were ready. We were going harder than we did in the second half. In the first half, we were playing better defense, forced (VCU) to have more turnovers and we were attacking the basket."
Once the second half begun, Coppin went as cold as the weather was outside. The Lady Eagles went nearly seven minutes without a point. Missed lay-ups and mishandling the ball was a major problem for CSU all second half long. Meanwhile, VCU took proper advantage of the opportunity, scoring 14 unanswered points thanks to a couple of three point baskets from guard Jessica Taylor and a serious display inside the paint from forward Courtney Hurt. A lay-up and a couple of free throws by Hurt gave the Rams a 36-33 advantage with 14 minutes left. Manley made a tough lay-up with 13:04 left to finally break the second half shutout for CSU.
Taylor said about the beginning of the second half, "that was just our main focus coming out of halftime. we knew that we needed to stop them. (Coppin) was getting a lot of easy baskets in transition and getting to the free throw line. So we knew that if we came out, played good defense, boxed out and get more rebounds than them that we would end up coming out with the win."
Hurt scored 16 of her game high 20 points in the second half and also collected 17 rebounds on top of that. Hurt said about her second half turnaround, "First half, I wasn't as aggressive as I need to be. I was not meeting the ball, a little lackadasical, I would say. In the second half, I came out. my shots weren't falling like it usually do. So I try to do other things. I rebounded the ball well and got a career high five steals. So I did the little things. Jessica stepped up, Sonia (Johnson) stepped up. It made my life easier from a scoring view. That's what we need every day, every game."
Coppin is taking final exams next week and will host a tough Missouri State squad on Dec. 17. According to Coach Brown, the lessons they'll take from this game was, "We just have to get older. We got to mature. Each game, I thought we're maturing a bit. It's just being tough and getting tougher. Now in the secoind half, we just got to settle down and focus on some things."
Carter learned, "Once we start playing hard, we got keep playing hard. we're going to put our fouls in and finish like we should have tonight. But the team did good, so I'm proud of us."
The Coppin State Lady Eagles still have a lot to learn for a young team. There were some bright spots, but consistency wasn't one of them as the VCU Rams came back from 12 down to defeat CSU 71-62 at the PEC last night.
CSU head coach Derek Brown stated, "We got to go hard. We got to play hard. That's how we're going to win. We did that in the first half. But then VCU focused in better in the second half. I think that was the game right there. They made some shots that they didn't make in the first half because of their focus. They picked up their intensity and we sorta stayed the same. VCU came back on us early in the second half. Now, we got to put our foot to the pedal and we just got to go harder."
Coppin center Jeanine Manley had near zero impact in the game. Manley got in foul trouble early, especially with a couple of charging fouls. VCU (3-3) had a lot to do with that as well because their defense targeted her all night long, limiting the junior to just three points and rebounds respectively in the game. VCU head coach Beth Cunningham said, "We were very concerned with (Manley) coming in. I think she's obviously such a big inside presence for them. I knew that she can cause some problems for us. I thought we did a good job for the most part understanding where she was. Understanding where our help needed to be at and try to take her out of it because when you got a kid like that inside, it certainly can change the complexion of a game if she gets going."
Coach Brown seemed to lay down a challenge to Manley saying, "You know we got Jeanine under there and this team, I can point people out. I don't mean it in a derogatory way, but if she's our horse and we've got to go to her. We got to try to get the ball into her, she's going to have to score. It's not like we have a whole bunch of people that can just score the basketball. Certain times of the game, we got to stick that ball into her and she has got to come through."
In the first half, Coppin State (2-5) stepped up nicely on defense, giving the Rams a lot of problems inside. VCU had a few shot clock violations and mishandled the ball a lot under the Lady Eagles' pressure. That led to a few easy baskets, especially from the three-point line where they made 4 of 8 in the first 20 minutes. Shawntae Payne scored five of her team high12 points and had four assists to help lead the charge. Coppin led 33-22 at the half.
CSU forward Larissa Carter said about the first half play, "I think we were ready. We were going harder than we did in the second half. In the first half, we were playing better defense, forced (VCU) to have more turnovers and we were attacking the basket."
Once the second half begun, Coppin went as cold as the weather was outside. The Lady Eagles went nearly seven minutes without a point. Missed lay-ups and mishandling the ball was a major problem for CSU all second half long. Meanwhile, VCU took proper advantage of the opportunity, scoring 14 unanswered points thanks to a couple of three point baskets from guard Jessica Taylor and a serious display inside the paint from forward Courtney Hurt. A lay-up and a couple of free throws by Hurt gave the Rams a 36-33 advantage with 14 minutes left. Manley made a tough lay-up with 13:04 left to finally break the second half shutout for CSU.
Taylor said about the beginning of the second half, "that was just our main focus coming out of halftime. we knew that we needed to stop them. (Coppin) was getting a lot of easy baskets in transition and getting to the free throw line. So we knew that if we came out, played good defense, boxed out and get more rebounds than them that we would end up coming out with the win."
Hurt scored 16 of her game high 20 points in the second half and also collected 17 rebounds on top of that. Hurt said about her second half turnaround, "First half, I wasn't as aggressive as I need to be. I was not meeting the ball, a little lackadasical, I would say. In the second half, I came out. my shots weren't falling like it usually do. So I try to do other things. I rebounded the ball well and got a career high five steals. So I did the little things. Jessica stepped up, Sonia (Johnson) stepped up. It made my life easier from a scoring view. That's what we need every day, every game."
Coppin is taking final exams next week and will host a tough Missouri State squad on Dec. 17. According to Coach Brown, the lessons they'll take from this game was, "We just have to get older. We got to mature. Each game, I thought we're maturing a bit. It's just being tough and getting tougher. Now in the secoind half, we just got to settle down and focus on some things."
Carter learned, "Once we start playing hard, we got keep playing hard. we're going to put our fouls in and finish like we should have tonight. But the team did good, so I'm proud of us."
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