Short trip, rough road for Coppin State Lady Eagles

Photo: Coppin State 2008 MEAC Tournament Champions.

Not getting to travel bothers team more than magnitude of task vs. Terps

In the end, it didn't matter that the Coppin State women's team won its third Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in four years, that it won 16 of its past 17 games or that it has one of the slickest backcourts in mid-major basketball.

The NCAA sentenced the 22-10 Eagles to a No. 16 seed in the Division I tournament and sent them down Interstate 95 to College Park for a Sunday afternoon, first-round matchup against top-seeded Maryland in the Spokane Regional.

Assembled in a large upstairs room in the school's cafeteria for the ESPN selection show, the Eagles let out a whoosh of disbelief, then clapped at the proceedings.

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