BALTIMORE, Md. ? Carlee Cassidy hit a pair of free throws with :54 seconds to play and the Tigers' last second shot fell short to give UMBC a 69-68 victory over Towson on Saturday night. The loss snapped the Tigers (5-1) five-game win streak while the Retrievers (6-2) have now won four straight.

Towson started the second half with a five point lead but a quick three-pointer from Erin Brown brought the hosts to within two at 34-32 with 19:49 to play. The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run over the next minute to increase their lead to 43-32 with 18:27 to play. Junior forward Haliena Snowden converted back-to-back baskets during the stretch while junior forward Katrina Wheeler converted a three-point play. The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes before a lay-up by Wheeler gave Towson a 46-37 advantage with 17:02 to go. UMBC scored seven unanswered points following Wheeler's bucket to make it a 46-44 game with 15 minutes to play. Cassidy scored all seven of the Retrievers points during that stretch.

The Tigers answered the Retrievers' seven with seven unanswered of their own. A jumper by junior guard Shanae Baker-Brice started the run and a three-point play from sophomore guard Simona Petronyte capped it at 11:22. The two squads seemed to match each other bucket for bucket over the next couple of minutes as the Tigers' advantage fluctuated between seven and nine points. A 10-4 run by the Retrievers cut the Towson advantage to one with 5:13 to play before Cassidy's lay-up at 4:24 gave the home team their first lead since 3:19 of the first half. Towson scored five of the next seven including a trey by sophomore guard Omara Parker to put the visitors ahead 66-64 with 2:53 to play. Cassidy hit a three-pointer with 1:34 to put UMBC on top 67-66. Baker-Brice answered with a pair of free throws at 1:13 to give Towson its final lead of the contest at 68-67. Cassidy would hit her free throws in the final minute to give UMBC the win.

The first half had started out well for the Tigers as the visitors had a 6-0 advantage before UMBC hit a bucket. The teams traded buckets over the next several minutes before a free throw by Michelle Kurowski at 14:16 gave the home team a 9-6 lead. Towson scored 11 of the next 13 points in the first half to take a 17-11 lead with 10:22 to play. Parker had six of the Tiger 11 while Baker-Brice contributed three. The two teams would continue to trade baskets as neither team was able to take a lead of more than three points during that stretch. With UMBC leading by one, a jumper by Snowden at 3:00 gave the Tigers a 28-27 advantage. The final three minutes of the half would be played out at the foul line as both teams were plagued by foul trouble. Towson was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes and 11-of-12 in the first half. UMBC was 0-for-4 in the final three minutes from the line and Towson took a 34-29 lead into the locker room.

Towson placed four players in double figures in the scoring column, led by Parker's 15 points. Wheeler posted her third “double-double” of the season as she had 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Petronyte finished with 12 points while Baker-Brice extended her double figure scoring streak to six games with 11. Junior forward Kandace Davis grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with six points.

Cassidy led all scorers with 23 points while Kurowski connected for 22 points in the contest. Brown led the Retrievers on the boards with 10, also adding 10 points.

The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday, December 9 for their lone home game in the month of December. Towson will tip things off with Navy at 5 p.m.

-- TIGERS --