SUMMARY

BALTIMORE – The University of Maryland Shore went on the road to put its win streak on the road and came out with a four-win streak as the Hawks defeated Coppin State 62-56. The win marked UMES' first win against the Eagles in Baltimore since 2010.

THE SCORE

Coppin State (17-12, 8-5 MEAC) - 56

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-16, 7-6) - 62

HOW IT HAPPENED

Ce'nara Skanes got the scoring started for both sides with an early three before each side began to trade baskets through the opening quarter. While the Eagles knocked down the next two baskets to take a 5-3 lead, the Hawks responded in kind as Ashanti Lynch drove into the paint for back-to-back buckets to retake the lead 7-5. Each side traded the lead a few more times before the end of the first with Dakieran Turner, Zamara Haynes and Skanes getting on the board to help keep the score close. Coppin State managed a 15-13 lead heading into the second behind a 7-of-11 while the Hawks knocked down 6-of-11 with each side drilling a three.

Coppin State opened the second quarter on a 9-1 run before UMES found its footing with a 16-2 run the final 5:47 of the half. Turner got the scoring going for the Hawks with a layup before Brianna Barnes started to heat up. Barnes drew a foul before knocking down a pair of free throws before following up a three from Lynch with a three of her own and then a driving layup. Skanes gave the Hawks their first lead of the quarter, 28-26, shortly after with a tough jumper in the paint before Barnes knocked down a free throw in the final minute to maintain a 29-28 lead heading into the halftime break. Barnes led the Hawks with eight points in the quarter.

The halftime break did little to cool down either side's offensive momentum as each side traded baskets and the lead throughout the early portions of the third quarter. The majority of points for both sides came at the free throw line as UMES committed 10 fouls to the Eagles' five. The Hawks went a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe while Coppin State knocked down 8-of-14. Haynes led the way for UMES with seven points in the quarter as Coppin State took a 21-14 scoring advantage through the frame.

Defense reigned supreme through the early minutes of the fourth quarter as neither side scored through the first three minutes until Coppin State broke the deadlock, though Skanes responded quickly with an easy score under the basket on an assist from Mahogany Lester. Lester followed up by driving the paint and drawing an and-1 opportunity that she converted to help kickstart a 12-1 run to retake the lead, 55-52, with 4:47 remaining. The Hawks maintained their lead as Skanes, Haynes and Lynch put up points to secure the road win.

BY THE NUMBERS

Three Hawks hit double digits scoring as Ce'nara Skanes led the way with 16 points while pulling down seven rebounds while grabbing two steals and a block. Zamara Haynes and Ashanti Lynch followed up with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Each side hit the free throw line often in the game as UMES shot 20-of-24 from the line while Coppin State went 10-of-18.

UMES held the advantage on the boards with 36 rebounds to Coppin State's 25. The Hawks pulled down 24 boards on defense with the other 12 coming on the offensive end.

There were 12 lead changes throughout the game. The Eagles led the majority of the game at 21:15 and were up by as much as 10 points in the second quarter. The Hawks' final six-point margin was their largest of the game.

Coppin State led the MEAC in three pointers per game with an average of 7.1, but were held just short of its average as the Eagles went 6-of-20 (30%) while the Hawks went 4-of-13 from beyond the arc.

COMMENTS FROM HAWK HEAD COACH MALIKAH WILLIS

Winning at Coppin State for first time since 2010

"It means a lot. We're turning it on at the right time. I just can't say how proud I am. Every time we're executing, we get a little razzled out there, they were throwing different defenses at us and we were just going downhill. (Mahogany Lester) didn't have a great shooting night, but told her to keep shooting. We all are believing in each other and it's working out. Four games in seven days. It's amazing."

Staying locked in with heavy minutes with 

"Our team has been working hard, and I tell them, 'It's March right now, it's up to you all now.' Everything they've been doing since August is coming to fruition right now. The conditioning, the lifting, their free throws and layups, everything. It's all coming together and we're definitely in shape. As much as we press and put layups in transition, we're going to run up and down, and it's going to be a fast paced game."

Looking toward Delaware State next

"It's what we've been working on all year. We're just staying true to ourselves and trying to grow our game and the way we want to execute. And that's how we've been playing the last two weeks, really working on ourselves and it's paying off."

Keeping grounded while on a win streak

"That's the hardest part. Them not fading or being defeated when we found out we had this many games to finish, they're looking forward to it. Half of it is not even me helping them out to understand what's ahead of them, it's really them. We've got seven seniors out here and they know it could be the end any given day. They're rising to the occasion. It's great to watch."

NEXT UP

The Hawks travel to Delaware State on Thursday, March 6, to close out the regular season before heading to Norfolk, Virginia, for the MEAC Tournament from March 12-15.