Raleigh, NC-Shalamar Oakley scored a game-high 17 and Rashida Suber added 16 to lead Coppin State to a 63-56 win over Delaware State in the semifinal round of the MEAC women's tournament at the RBC Center. The Lady Eagles (21-11), the number two seed will take on North Carolina A&T State, the number one seed in Saturday's title game at 1 p.m. The Hornets finished the season 18-14 and the loss snapped a five game win streak.
Oakley got Coppin State out to a quick start, scoring 12 of her points in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Eagles led, 34-25 at the half. The 2007-08 MEAC Player of the Year, hit on 5 of 8 shots from the field and accounted for 10 more points with five assists.
“It was emotional for us when we got here on Monday because it brought back memories of us losing here last year (in the semifinals to Morgan State),” said Suber. “I wanted to personally make sure that we get off to a good start.”
Coppin State shot 52 percent (14 of 27) from the field and was credited with 8 assists in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Eagles took care of business on the other end as they forced Delaware State into 34 percent shooting.
“I thought we defended really well,” said Coppin State head coach Derek Brown. “We put (Danielle) Anders on their point guard and I think that her length and how she played forced them out of their game plan.”
The Lady Eagles maintained control in the second half and even though Oakley was handicapped with fouls, Suber, a first team all-conference selection, Anders and Whitney Cunningham all made contributions. Each time, the Lady Hornets would get a run and get within striking distance, Suber and Anders would provide points or Cunningham (7 blocks) would stem the tide.
“I thought that they played a steady game for 40 minutes,” said Delaware State Coach Ed Davis, who led his team to the 2007 MEAC Tournament title. “They didn't welter when we cut the lead to 54-50. We thought we had a chance to make a move at that point, but Coppin State hit some big shots.”
Delaware State was led by Raquel Collier and Katreem Palmer, who each scored 12 points.
“We came up a little tight and it got us off to a slow start and we were playing catchup from there,” said Palmer, a member of last year's tournament championship team. “We got close but could not get over the hump.”
