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Coppin State’s duo loses game, but wins respect
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Shalamar Oakley buries her face in her jersey after Maryland beat Coppin State, 80-66, on Sunday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. — AP
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Sixteenth-seeded teams usually are overlooked footnotes in a top-seed’s journey toward a trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four.
But Maryland will have a hard time forgetting Coppin State’s Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley after an 80-66 victory over the Eagles in the first round at Comcast Center on Sunday.
Suber and Oakley, who have combined to win the past three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year awards, scored 45 of their team’s points in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
Throughout the contest, the pair showed time and time again they belonged on the court with their more-celebrated ACC opponent.
“Coming into the game, we knew… that they had two really good guards that took the majority of their shots,” Maryland junior forward Marissa Coleman said. “We knew they were really good.”
Suber finished with 25 points, which tied for a game-high with Maryland’s All-American forward, Crystal Langhorne. Oakley, the reigning conference Player of the Year, added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Maryland (31-3) was unable to stop either from penetrating into the lane during the first half. The two guards combined for 35 of Coppin State’s 40 points in the game’s first 20 minutes.
During a nearly four-minute stretch in the half, Coppin State (22-12) went on a 14-0 run to take a 20-15 lead over the heavily favored Terrapins. Oakley scored 10 points during that run and Suber added four.
After scoring 17 points in the first half, however, Oakley was limited to just three in the game’s final 20 minutes.
“I don’t think they were doing anything different,” Oakley said of Maryland’s defense in the second half. “They were very physical in the first half, just as much as they were in the second. In the second half, they went to a zone. I feel like I really didn’t need to score that much for my team. It was more of getting everybody else involved in the game.”
Maryland coach Brenda Frese said the success of Oakley and Suber became a concern.
“We really talked about it at halftime,” Frese said. “We weren’t pleased with how many open looks they were getting on the offense end and just the pride we do have as a team.”
As the seconds ticked down on Coppin State’s season, Coach Derek Brown realized he was charged with the task of finding Oakley and Suber’s replacements.
“They’re two young ladies that put their heart into every practice and every game,” Brown said. “We talked about that in the locker room just a minute ago. Their leadership will be gone and I don’t who is going to step up to be the leader or leaders. These two ladies are going to be hard to replace. Very hard to replace.”
mpalmer@baltimoreexaminer.com
