The Terps will play in their home opener on Thursday.
No. 18 Maryland women’s basketball will host Coppin State in its home opener on Thursday night.
After a dominant second half in a 74-32 win in their season opener over UMBC Monday, the Terps look to secure another decisive victory Thursday before they face No. 11 Duke on Sunday.
Thursday’s game will tip-off at 6 p.m. from Xfinity Center and stream on Big Ten Plus.
Coppin State Eagles (1-0, 0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
2023-24 record: 12-18, 8-6 MEAC
Jermaine Woods is in his third season as Coppin State’s head coach, and fifth season overall with the program. He led the Eagles to their first MEAC semifinals since 2016 last year, defeating Maryland Eastern Shore in the first round of the MEAC Tournament.
In Coppin State’s first game of the season, the Eagles defeated Frostburg State, 72-70, off a game-winner from Angel Jones. Maryland played Frostburg State in an exhibition and beat the Bobcats, 90-40.
Coppin State also played future Maryland opponents Syracuse and Duke last season, losing both games by more than 30 points.
Players to watch
Laila Lawrence, senior forward, 6-foot-2, No. 31 — Lawrence leads the way for Coppin State in her second season with the program. She led the team in scoring last season, averaging 14.1 points, 10.7 rebounds and an assist per game. She also scored 19 points in the season opener against Frostburg State. She was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-MEAC first team last season.
Angel Jones, junior guard, 5-foot-4, No. 11 — Jones hit the game-winning shot on Monday night and led the Eagles with 20 points. She averaged 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists last season. In 2023-24, she was named to the All-MEAC second team and was a two-time MEAC Player of the Week.
Tiffany Hammond, redshirt senior guard, 5-foot-9, No. 2 — Hammond is in her second season with Coppin State. Last season, she averaged 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. She scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out an assist in the season opener.
Strength
Steals. Coppin State had an advantage in steals over opponents last season, 238-231. In its first game of this season, it recorded 13 steals to Frostburg State’s 10.
Weakness
Rebounds. Boards could be a big issue for Coppin State on Thursday, as Maryland outrebounded UMBC, 48-18, on Monday. The Eagles were outrebounded 1161 to 1068 in 2023-24, averaging 35.6 rebounds per game compared to their opponents’ 38.7 rebounds per game. On Monday, Coppin State was outrebounded, 39-34, by Frostburg State.
Three things to watch
1. Kubek’s big presence. Allie Kubek had a big game on Monday against UMBC with 11 points and eight rebounds, but she could have piled on even more. She has a chance against a relatively small team in Coppin State to put up even bigger numbers.
2. Similar starting lineup. On Monday, Brenda Frese started Allie Kubek and Christina Dalce in the frontcourt and Sarah Te-Biasu, Kaylene Smikle and Shyanne Sellers in the backcourt. It was a surprise that Dalce and Kubek made the starting five over Saylor Poffenbarger and Bri McDaniel, but all indications point to Frese keeping the lineup the same.
3. Starting the home slate. Maryland starts its slate of 15 home games on Thursday. The Terps have been very strong at home recently, losing just 7-of-71 home games since 2019-20, including a 12-3 record last season.