Aniya Finger Leads NCCU WBB to Advance to First MEAC Semifinals In Program’s History
NORFOLK, Va. – Redshirt sophomore forward Aniya Finger scored a team-high 12 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to lead fourth-seeded North Carolina Central University to a 57-50 victory over fifth-seeded Coppin State University in the quarterfinals of the 2023 MEAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon inside the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Finger’s sixth double-double of the season helped the NCCU Eagles advance to the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament for only the second time in program history. NC Central (15-15 Overall) will play its first-ever semifinal game at the MEAC tourney after its 2020 semifinal game got canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. NCCU will play top-seeded Norfolk State University in the semis on Friday at noon.
Finger also had four assists, two steals, and one block to go with her 12 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow redshirt sophomore forward Morgan Callahan netted 11 points and four rebounds. Senior Kira Lowery and junior Kimeira Burks both contributed eight points while junior Tippy Robertson and freshman Jerni Kiaku each swished seven points. Robertson provided the victorious Eagles with five assists.
NCCU was held to just three made field goals in the first quarter as Coppin State held a slim 12-9 edge after 10 minutes of action. The CSU Eagles then made over half of their shots in the second quarter (53.8%) to double up their cushion to six points, 29-23, at halftime.
Coppin State redshirt junior Mossi Staples led all players with 10 points at the midway break, including a pair of made 3-pointers. Staples added 10 more points in the second half to finish with a game-high 20 points.
The designated visitors were still clinging to a 36-31 lead past the midway point of the third quarter before NCCU went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead since an early 7-5 edge in the first quarter. Burks bucketed a 3-pointer to start the run, then Callahan made a layup on a nice dish by Finger to level the score before Kiaku raced down the court for a fast break layup to put the maroon and gray into the lead with 1:57 left in the third quarter. Callahan made another lay-in on a pass by Robertson as time was expiring to lift NCCU to a 42-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
NC Central kept the momentum to begin the final stanza, scoring the first eight points of the period. Junior Kimia Carter swished a 3-pointer from the right corner to force Coppin State to call a timeout just 1:39 into the period. Another transition layup by Kiaku at the 7:30 mark extended NCCU’s advantage to a game-high 11 points (50-39) before Coppin State rallied to within one possession. CSU used a 9-1 run to close the gap to 51-48, but Finger scored four points, grabbed one rebound, and made one steal over the next minute to keep the fourth-seeded Eagles ahead to the final buzzer.
NCCU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half while holding CSU to just 24 percent from the floor over that span. NC Central outscored Coppin State 34-22 in the second half.
Coppin State ended its season at 8-22 overall.
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