The Short Story:  The No. 5 seeded University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the 2024 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament, 61-55, to No. 4 seed Coppin State on Thursday afternoon at the Norfolk Scope, in Norfolk. The Hawks led by two at the break before a combination of cold shooting by UMES and a hot streak by the Eagles in the third saw the higher seed take control and hold on in the fourth for the win.

THE GAME FACTS
Score: #4 Coppin State 61, #5 UMES 55
Location: Norfolk, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a slow start to the game for both the Hawks and Eagles with neither team able to find the scoreboard in the first two minutes of the game. CSU would get on the board first with a 6-0 push before Chaniqwa Gilliam hit a three for the Hawks at 6:14, cutting the lead in half. Two possessions later Gilliam was fouled and made both ends of the free throws to get the Hawks within one.
• Zamara Haynes would be fouled on the next possession and made both of her free throws to give UMES the lead 7-6 with 4:40 on the clock. The Eagles, trailing 9-6, ended a scoring drought of nearly four minutes with a three before Haynes responded on the next trip down the court with a layup giving the Hawks the lead once again at 11-9. A last second shot with 0.3 seconds left by CSU missed the rim but a foul was called. The Eagles made two of the three free throws to trail the Hawks 15-14 heading into the second quarter.
• It took nearly a minute and half before the Eagles scored the first points of the period with a layup. Ashanti Lynch responded for the Hawks a minute later with three to retake the lead 18-16 at 7:25. Back and forth baskets by each team would see CSU have the 21-20 lead at the media timeout at 4:49.
• Scoring was at a premium the remainder of the quarter with the Eagles holding a 25-24 lead after scoring on one of two free throws with 12 seconds left. The Hawks would get the last word of the half with Gilliam scoring a layup with 1.9 seconds left and was fouled. She would make her free throw to give UMES the 27-25 lead as the teams headed into the locker room.
• CSU came out in the second half on a hot streak, outscoring the Hawks 10-2 over the first four and a half minutes, takin ga 35-29 lead, forcing a UMES timeout at 5:30. The Hawks would begin to answer as the teams would go back and forth with CSU holding a four-point lead at 40-36 at 1:37 left in the quarter. A last second layup by Mya Thomas would pull the Hawks within six, 44-38, at the end of the third.
• After the Hawks pulled within four, the Eagles would score the next five points to take a 51-42 lead. A layup by Mahogany Lester with 5:21 began the Hawks run with Coppin State calling a timeout with 4:56 left in the game.
• Coming out of the media timeout, the Eagles began to pull away to lead by 12 after shooting one of two free throws at 3:17. Just 10 seconds later, Mya Thomas would hit a three to cut the deficit back within single digits. Two made free throws by Thomas cut it down to seven, 56-49 at 2:36. A missed layup by the Eagles on the next possession led to a UMES rebound a fastbreak layup by Gilliam, forcing the Eagles to take a full timeout at 1:41, with the lead down to 56-51. After CSU made one of two free throws at 1:02, the Hawks ran the ball down the floor and got a layup from Lainey Allen with 47 seconds remaining. However, the Eagles would a few late free throws and grab a late rebound to secure the 61-55 win, advancing to take on top-seeded Norfolk State in the semifinals.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Both Haynes and Gilliam led the Hawks in the first half with eight points apiece. Haynes 3-for-8 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds. Gilliam was 2-3 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
• Mahogany Lester had six rebounds and two steals at the break for the Hawks.
• At the end of the game, Gilliam and Lainey Allen each scored 10 points to lead UMES while Lester added three rebounds in the second half for a total of nine.
• As a team the Hawks led CSU in rebounds (37-32), bench points (24-6), and points in the paint (28-14).
• Laila Lawrence led CSU with 19 points and nine rebounds.

BENCH THOUGHTS WITH BATCHELOR

• "Hats off to Coppin. I think they prepared for us well and got us out of our game plan."
• In regards to the third quarter slump – "Percentages don't lie. I feel they were more aggressive during that time where we sat back waiting for something good to happen. Something to key off of before going on a run."
• "I was looking for something to run. They took me out of my rhythm in the second half."
• "These ladies did not quit all season. They played their hearts out and I commend them for the season we had."
• Chaniqwa Gilliam on the season – "I would say we had a successful season. To see where the team was last year and setting marks this year was great. It wasn't the way we wanted to end it, but we had a good year."
• Mya Thomas on the season – "We played well. The team means a lot to me and I am excited to see how well they continue to improve and strive next year."

SEASON COMPLETE