NORFOLK, Va. – Bethune-Cookman opens its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament play Thursday at noon when the Lady Wildcats meet Coppin State at noon in the Scope.
The Lady Wildcats (18-10) earned the tournament third seed with an 11-5 record in league play. Coppin State (5-24) finished 11
th in league play, but upended Morgan State 50-48 to earn a quarterfinals berth.
Thursday's winner will face second-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore, a 54-37 winner over South Carolina State, in the semifinals Friday at 2 p.m.
HISTORY LESSON: BCU and Coppin State have met just two times in conference play – BCU won 82-73 in 1959 while Coppin State triumphed 64-58 in 2004 .. The Lady Wildcats are 7-10 in the tournament in the
Vanessa Blair-Lewis era, advancing to the 2017 championship game and the semifinals last year when she was on maternity leave … BCU is 8-5 vs. Coppin State in the Blair-Lewis era, including a 71-65 triumph back on Jan. 28.
MORE REASONS TO GET TO THE FINALS: Not only would a trip to Saturday's championship culminate a season that's seen the Lady Wildcats lose their defensive stopper (
Ashanti Hunt) , a rookie of the year candidate (
Kiana Williams) and their sixth man (
Briana Hardee) … it would ensure an unprecedented third straight 20-win season. No other Wildcat team – men's or women's – has done that … Two victories would also give senior
Angel Golden 83 career victories as a player – surpassing men's basketball legend Carl Fuller's 82 victories.
#(ANGEL)GOLDENSTATE: The senior from Tampa has placed herself on the Mt. Rushmore of BCU women's scorers with 1,369 career points, third on the all-time list … She currently has 236 career 3FGs, so it's mathematically possible to catch
Kendra Cooper's 259 for that school record … Her 541 points is the third best single-scoring mark in program history … She's had 27 career 20-point games and BCU is 26-1 when she drops 20 or more.
#WHATCAN(CHAS)BROWN: The third-team All MEAC post player delivered career bests of 10.8 ppg and 8.3 rebounds this season. She's three blocks away from becoming the fourth Lady Wildcat to reach the 100 career mark.
STATS AND STUFF: Sophomore
Amaya Scott was third on the team with 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds during conference play … Freshman
Camary Harris posted seven double-figure scoring games and one double-figure rebounding game during a conference play run that netted her a berth on the all-rookie team … Sophomore Armani Ball started 13 games during league play.
ABOUT COPPIN STATE: Chance Graham was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year last week after leading the MEAC with 11.6 rebounds per game, which also ranks 10th in the country. Senior guard Brooke Fields leads the team with over 17 points per game.
THURSDAY'S COVERAGE: Visit MEAChoops.com for all the links to videocasts and live stats … Follow @BCUWBB for additional links, including the smooth sounds of
Nolan Alexander's play-by-play beginning at 12 noon.
