Coppin women selected for WNIT spot

 

By Keith Henry 

For the first time since 2009, the Coppin State Lady Eagles will participate in the postseason. Coming off of their 72-33 MEAC semifinal loss to tournament champion Norfolk State, head coach Jermaine Woods didn’t want his Lady Eagles to finish the season this way. So for his young ladies, he jumped at the opportunity. 

On Sunday afternoon, Coppin was picked as an At-Large selection for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) and will head on the road to Hamilton, New York to play Colgate this upcoming Saturday evening at 6 pm.

Coach Woods said on Twitter (X), “It’s been 15 years since Coppin Women’s Basketball has experienced post season play (2009). Together we did it in 3! Thank you to every player and staff member who’s been a part of the journey. We did it the right way brick by brick.  Looking forward to continuing our historical season.”

Coppin won the most non-conference games in program history in the regular season. The Lady Eagles defeated Arizona State of the Big 12 and MAC champion Kent State at home and won at Atlantic 10 opponent George Washington. 

Coppin is led by the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, Laila Lawrence. Lawrence is in the top 10 in the nation in double-doubles with 21.

Along with Coppin State (18-14), three other HBCUs are in the field. Howard was the only other MEAC squad picked. From the SWAC, Texas Southern and Alabama A&M are in the field as well.   

As for their opponents, Colgate (23-9) is from the Patriot League and also qualified as an At-Large. The Raiders big non-conference win came at Atlantic-10 opponent St. Bonaventure. Colgate lost their Patriot League quarterfinal game at home to Bucknell 63-58 last week. 

Senior guard Taylor Golembiewski leads the Raiders in scoring this season, averaging over 14 points per game. Sophomore forward/center Maryan Eniafe leads the team in field goal percentage, hitting 60% of her shot attempts.

Colgate has experience in the WNIT. Last season, the Raiders advanced all the way to the Super 16 by defeating Albany and Providence before falling at Vermont.

Coppin State has history in the WNIT as well. In 2007, the Lady Eagles defeated St. Joseph’s before falling at South Florida in the second round. Then again in 2009 when Coppin fell at West Virginia in the first round.

This is the first meeting ever for Coppin vs. Colgate on the women's side.