Lady Eagles take their frustrations out on Cheney

by Keith Henry

Coming off of a tough road trip which included losses at Wake Forest and Oklahoma State, Coppin looked to regain their shooting touch while hosting the Division II Cheney Wolves. Coppin's defense put a choke hold on the Wolves, overwhelming them 94-39 at the PEC.

Coppin State's shooting was a downright struggle lately as they made only 19% of their shots in their 59-35 loss at Oklahoma State. At Wake Forest, the Lady Eagles shooting wasn't quite there as they made 25% of their shots in their 80-58 loss in Winston-Salem.

On Monday night, Coppin State (2-3) didn't waste any time taking out those frustrations on the Wolves. The Lady Eagles shot 54.3% on the night, including a blistering 64.9% shooting clinic which originated off the turnovers Coppin forced. Crystal Whittington said, “We was so frustrated, we had to take out our anger on somebody. (Cheney) were just the victims we had to take it out on.”

After Tamara Russell's lay-up put Cheney up 4-2, Coppin applied their pressure defense and stymied the Wolves, forcing turnover after turnover. The Lady Eagles scored 19 unanswered points as a result to forge ahead for good 21-4. “Coach Brown told us not to let up. Use this game as a time to work on the things we need to work on. Don't play down to their level,” said Whittington. The Coppin defense didn't allow a field goal for nearly seven minutes after Russell's basket.

It got ugly later on as CSU extended the lead to 50-18 with 4:25 left in the first half. Coppin led at halftime 56-18, not allowing a Cheney basket for the last five minutes of the first half.

Coppin head coach Derek Brown began to empty his bench late in the first half. Whittington led all scorers with 15 points and was among five Lady Eagles scoring in double figures. Leola Spotwood led everyone with 11 rebounds on the night.

The only concern for Coppin State this night was the free throw shooting. They shot a paltry 47.1% on the night making 16 out of 34 attempts on the night. They'll have to do better from the charity stripe in order to experience more success this season.

Coppin hosts #20 Georgetown on Wednesday and open up MEAC play on Saturday at Howard.