Mikesell, Jones pace Terps women in opening victory
Coppin State no match for UM; Loyola, Mount, UMES, Morgan beaten
Taylor Mikesell scored 18 points, Stephanie Jones had 17 and No. 9 Maryland beat visiting Coppin State 93-36 Friday night.
Shakira Austin added 12 points and Kaila Charles had 11 as the Terrapins opened the season with a win after going 26-8 last year — its worst record since 2012-13. Maryland was then eliminated by North Carolina State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Terps returned four of their top five leading scorers — Blair Watson, Brianna Fraser, Jones and Charles, who led the team with 17.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Mikesell, who started, and Austin are the team's top freshman.
Mikesell scored 10 points in the opening quarter, paving the way for an early 31-13 lead.
Coppin State (0-2) has just three players that were on the roster last season — Chance Graham, Maraiyah Smith and Oluwadamilola Oloyede. Freshman E'Mya Price made the biggest impact and led the Eagles with 11 points. Graham managed nine points and 13 rebounds.
Coppin State had few answers for the Terrapins' taller frontcourt and was outrebounded 71-39.
Maryland was never threatened and a late free throw by Austin provided a 48-20 lead at the break. The Terrapins scored 27 points off 20 Eagles turnovers in the game.
Terrapins coach Brenda Frese was able to rotate players freely in the second half and her team continued to overwhelm Coppin State. Another 3-pointer by Mikesell increased the margin to 75-32 with 8:22 left in the game.
The Terrapins improved to 15-0 all-time against Coppin State.
DARTMOUTH54, LOYOLAMARYLAND 41: The host Big Green (1-0) had a strong second half to beat the Greyhounds (0-2). Bri Betz-White scored 13 points for Loyola.
MICHIGAN 88, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 40: Juliette Lawless scored a team-high 19 points, but the visiting Mount (1-1) fell to the Wolverines (1-0). Michigan went on a 31-8 run in the third quarter to pull away.
GEORGETOWN 74, UMES 55: Ciani Byrom had a game-high 23 points, but the Hawks (0-2) fell to the host Hoyas (2-0). Georgetown finished strong on a 21-12 run in the fourth quarter.
HARTFORD 80, MORGAN STATE 59: Adre’onia Coleman had a gamehigh 19 points, but the Bears (1-2) fell to the Hawks (1-1) in a Preseason WNIT game. Hartford outscored Morgan State, 22-20, in the fourth quarter.
Men
ST. FRANCIS (PA.) 80, MORGAN STATE 62: Jamaal King scored 21 points and Keith Braxton scored 19 and collected 13 rebounds and the host Red Flash (1-1) beat the Bears (0-2).
Braxton surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career and added to his career lead in double-doubles with 25. Braxton has scored in double figures in 54 of 67 career games.
HOFSTRA 79, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 61: Justin Wright-Foreman had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and the host Pride (1-0) overcame a slow start to beat the Mount (0-2).
The Pride missed their first 12 shots from the field and fell behind 16-1 before Tareq Coburn's jumper with12:02 left in the first half. Hofstra outscored the Mount 28-12 over the rest of the half to take a 31-28 lead into the break.