NORFOLK, Va. – The All-MEAC inside duo of Morgan Callahan and Aniya Finger scored 17 points and 11 points, respectively, for North Carolina Central but frigid shooting hurt the Eagles in a 70-52 women's basketball quarterfinal loss to Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament at the Norfolk Scope on Thursday.

The Eagles, seeded fifth, ended their season at 9-20 overall while fourth-seeded Coppin State improved to 10-22 overall. Coppin State will play top-seed Howard in Friday's semifinals.

Nia Young contributed seven points for the Eagles, who shot 28 percent from the field. They were 3 of 16 from three-point range for 18.8 percent and 21 of 37 from the free throw line for 56.8 percent. The Eagles rank 15th in the country in free throw attempts per game. 

Meanwhile, Coppin State connected on 44.2 percent of its shots but struggled from deep, shooting 2 of 14 for 14.3 percent. Coppin State offset poor perimeter shooting by making 22 of 29 attempts from the charity stripe for 75.9 percent.

The Eagles canned 10 of 16 free throws and forced seven Coppin State turnovers in the second quarter to climb back from a 12-point deficit in a four-minute span and go into halftime trailing 29-25. But NCCU shot 29.6 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from the free throw line in the second half while Coppin State shot 52.4 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the charity stripe to open a double-digit lead.

NCCU had an opportunity to take the lead early in the third quarter. The Eagles trailed 29-27 with the ball but a turnover gave possession back to Coppin State, which increased its lead to 16 points before entering the fourth quarter ahead 48-36.

A flagrant foul on Coppin State early in the fourth quarter gave NCCU a chance to cut a 12-point deficit to either eight or seven points. However, the Eagles missed both free throws and were unable to score on the ensuing possession.

Still, NCCU continued to battle despite the deficit. The Eagles managed to slice the margin to nine twice in the fourth quarter, the last time on Callahan's layup with six minutes left. Coppin State responded with an 18-9 run to put the game away for its third win over the Eagles this season and its sixth straight in the series.

The Eagles, who ranked 12th in the country in forcing turnovers, made Coppin State commit 27 turnovers but were outrebounded 44-25.

The contest marked the end of Callahan's marvelous career at NCCU. The stellar forward, who grabbed eight rebounds against Coppin State, finished as the school's career women's scoring leader in the Division I era with 1,375 points. She ranks seventh on the program's all-time scoring list.

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