Coppin State Lady Eagles win overtime thriller, 68-60

BALTIMORE (1/5/2003)—Senior guard Shamara Singleterry (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield H.S.) scored nine of her 14 points in overtime to lead Coppin State past North Carolina A&T, 68-60, earlier this evening at the Coppin Center.

Despite dressing just six players for the contest, it was the Lady Aggies who dominated the game in the early going. The Lady Aggie defense forced Coppin to miss eight of its first 11 shots and forced Coppin to call a timeout after a Camile Akins basket made the score 13-8 with 10:17 remaining in the half. A&T came out strong after the timeout, forcing Coppin into two straight turnovers. The two teams traded baskets until a Yanumba Sherman basket gave A&T a 29-20 lead, its largest of the game. Coppin began to close the gap and went into halftime down just four points, 31-27, after a Denita Plain (Miami, Fla./Southridge H.S.) three-pointer with time running out.

The two teams came out of the break with a fury, trading baskets until an Antoinette Reese (Washington, D.C./H.D. Woodson H.S.) three-pointer sparked a 9-0 run, giving the Lady Eagles its first lead of the second half, 36-35. Coppin led throughout the second half, pushing its lead to as many as six on several occasions. A basket by Sherrie Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz H.S.) with 4:10 remaining gave the Lady Eagles a 51-45 lead. Lisa Richardson then scored six straight Aggie points to cut the Lady Eagles lead to just two with 2:21 remaining. Neither team could then score a basket until Akins scored for A&T with just :24 seconds remaining. Coppin had one last chance in regulation but LaKesha Wills jumper in the paint hit the front of the rim and bounced away into the arms of A&T’s Sherman. The Lady Aggies were unable to get a shot off before the clock expired.

In the extra period, Akins scored a fast-break lay-up to give the Aggies a 55-53 lead. After a Shareka Glover free throw made the game 56-53, the Lady Eagles took over the game. Singleterry scored five straight points to give the Lady Eagles a 58-56 lead with 3:47 remaining. Coppin would never look back. After Tawana Jackson hit two free throws to make the game 60-58, Singleterry hit another three-pointer, her third of the game, moving her into seventh-place all-time on Coppin’s career three-point field goals list, to make the game 63-58. Coppin then made five of its six free throws down the stretch to close out the game.

LaKesha Wills recorded game-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds to lead Coppin State, while Singleterry pulled down seven rebounds to go with her 14 points. Akins scored 21 points to lead North Carolina A&T, while Lisa Richardson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Eagles are back in action on Monday, January 6, as they take on the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs in a doubleheader with the men’s team. Tip-off for the women’s game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game scheduled to begin approximately a 1/2 hour later.