—The UMBC women's basketball team (1-2) dropped its first road game of the season, 75-43, to nearby Coppin State (2-1) Wednesday evening at the Coppin Center. The Retrievers committed 25 turnovers and shot just 23 percent in the loss and could not contain the Eagles' hot-scoring duo of Shalamar Oakley and Rashida Suber, who combined for 46 points.
After the Retrievers scored the first five points of the game, the Eagles scored 10 in a row with six points from forward Chanelle Downing. UMBC closed the score to 14-12 at the 10:20 mark, but Coppin State broke the game open with an 18-0 run with eight points by Oakley over the next five minutes to take a commanding 32-12 lead, and the Retrievers could not recover. Senior guard Morgan Hatten drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send UMBC into the locker room down by 16 points, 38-22.
Hatten and sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy led the Retrievers with eight points apiece. Oakley led all scorers with 10 points, while Suber had nine and Jennifer Martin posted nine rebounds.
Coppin State shot 44.7 percent (17-for-38) in the half while holding UMBC to just 25.8 percent (8-for-31).
Both teams had shooting trouble out of the gates in the second half, as the Retrievers made just one of their first 12 shots, while the Eagles hit only two of 10 in the first six minutes. But Coppin State hit six of their next seven attempts during a 14-4 run to put the game away.
The teams combined for 46 turnovers in the game, but the Eagles were able to capitalize on UMBC's 25 miscues, scoring 26 points off turnovers.
Cassidy led the Retrievers with 18 points and added a career-high seven rebounds, while Hatten finished with eight points and eight boards.
Oakley led all scorers with 26 points and added five assists and six steals, while Suber, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, had 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Martin finished with a career-high 15 rebounds, and Sesalie Johnson posted eight assists.
The Retrievers shot 23.3 percent (14-for-60) in the game, including just 20.7 percent (6-for-29) in the second half, while Coppin State finished with a .455 (30-for-66) shooting percentage. The Eagles also out-rebounded UMBC, 49-36.
The Retrievers return to action on Friday, Nov. 16, when they host James Madison at 7 p.m. at the RAC Arena.
