Lady Eagles lose second straight home contest

BALTIMORE -Katie Romey had 20 points, and Lynell Davis had with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Cornell past host Coppin State, 62-41, at the Coppin Center, in the Lady Eagles' final non-conference game of the season.

The Big Red avenged a setback to Coppin in the season opener at the Seton Hall Basketball Classic and sent the Lady Eagles to their second straight home loss by taking control midway through the first half. Coppin (5-7) had fought back from an early 11-point deficit by scoring eight straight points, pulling within 13-10 on Donna Williams' basket with 11:17 remaining in the period.

But the Lady Eagles, whose shooting troubles from Monday's loss to South Carolina State carried over against the Big Red, went cold, missing 16 of their final 17 field goal attempts of the first half, while Cornell (5-6) was steadily padding its lead.

A free throw by Ify Ossai started a 14-3 run by the Big Red, who settled for a 29-16 advantage at the break.

Despite holding the visitors to a 10-for-29 performance (34 percent) from the field, Coppin shot a woeful 17 percent (6-of-36) over the first 20 minutes, as Romey finished with 10 first-half points.

In the second half, Cornell stretched the margin to 19 following a bucket by Dani Aretino early on before a mini rally by a unit of Lady Eagles reserves.

Shaunita Middleton scored five straight points, and her three-pointer at 6:12 pulled Coppin within 48-36, but the comeback ran out of steam, as Romey and Davis went to work, combining for 12 points to up the margin to 21 in the closing minutes.

Cornell held a whopping 24-5 margin on the boards in the second half and turned nine offensive rebounds into 21 points.

LaKesha Wills, who was averaging nearly 14 points coming into the game, finished with six to tie Williams and Middleton for team honors.

It was the second straight game in which the Lady Eagles were held under 50 points.

Coppin resumes Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Norfolk State.