Box Score NORFOLK, Va. - The Coppin State backcourt duo of Genesis Lucas and Amber Griffin combined for 38 points to lead the fourth-seeded Lady Eagles to a convincing 81-62 win over No. 9 seed South Carolina State in a MEAC Tournament semifinal on Friday afternoon at Scope Arena.
Coppin State (16-15) advances to Saturday afternoon's championship game against the winner of Friday's other semifinal between No. 2 North Carolina A&T State and No. 3 Hampton.
Lucas scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Griffin tallied 17 on 7-of-14 accuracy for Coppin State, which shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the floor, 50-percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range and 73.9-percent (17-of-23) from the free-throw line.
Jasmine Coleman scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds and
Bria Ratliff added 13 points off the bench for SC State (13-16), which upset top-seed Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday to reach the semifinals.
Coppin State never trailed. The Lady Eagles scored the game's first six points and led 20-12 after one period.
SC State whittled its deficit to as little as four in the second quarter and was within five at 27-22 after a layup by
Brittany Drumgoole with 5:32 left in the half. But CSU closed the half on an 11-0 run to widen the margin. Griffin had seven of the 11 points, and both she and Lucas hit 3-pointers to help send CSU into the half with a 38-22 lead.
The Lady Eagles led by double figures the entire second half. SC State cut its deficit to 10 points on five occasions in the fourth quarter, the last being at 69-59 on a jumper by Coleman with 3:27 left. But CSU outscored the Lady Bulldogs 12-3 the rest of the way to ease into Saturday's championship round.
Keena Samuels scored 13 points, Janelle Lane chipped in with 10 and Tanaysa Henderson had eight, including two 3-pointers, for CSU. The Lady Eagles matched their season high with six made 3-point field goals, two each by Henderson, Griffin and Lucas. Jordan Swails also scored eight points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds off the bench for Coppin State.
Toni Grier finished with eight points, eight boards and one block for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Eagles last made it to the MEAC Tournament championship game in 2014, when they lost to Hampton by a 50-47 score. CSU's last MEAC title came in 2008.
