NORFOLK, Va. – No. 5 seed North Carolina Central starts MEAC Tournament women's basketball play on Thursday, March 13, at the Norfolk Scope.

The Eagles (9-20 overall) clash against No. 4 seed Coppin State in the quarterfinals at 12 p.m. The winner moves to the semifinals against top seed Norfolk State on Friday at noon. Norfolk State beat No. 8 seed South Carolina State 81-55 in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday.

ESPN+ will livestream the quarterfinal game. Click HERE to watch. Live stats are available HERE or go to nccueaglepride.com.

NCCU and Coppin State (17-13) met twice during the regular season. Both games went down to the wire but Coppin State prevailed each time. The Eagles fell on the road 69-66 on Jan. 4 and lost at home 63-53 on Feb. 15.

Thursday's game features two top scoring teams. Coppin State (64.2) and NCCU (61.1) are third and fourth, respectively, in the MEAC in scoring offense.

All-MEAC second team stalwarts Kyla Bryant and Morgan Callahan lead the Eagles. Bryant averages 13.3 points and 3.4 assists and Callahan averages 12.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals.

Callahan and Jada Tiggett, both MEAC All-Defensive selections, anchor the Eagles' backline. Tiggett leads the conference in blocks per game (2.3) for the second consecutive year. MEAC All-Rookie selection Shakiria Foster averages 10.5 points and 1.4 steals.

Coppin State is led by Laila Lawrence, the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. She averages 16.8 points, a league-leading 10.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 2.6 steals.

Lawrence and Angel Jones were both All-MEAC first team picks. Jones scores at 15.3 points a clip to go with 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.