TOWSON, Md. ? The last time the Tigers beat James Madison in 1984, no player on the current roster was born yet. Towson changed all that with a 61-51 win over the Dukes on Thursday night in the Towson Center. The Tigers (12-6, 4-4 CAA) used a 19-3 run over the final 9:01 to snap a 20-game losing streak to the Dukes (13-6, 6-2 CAA).
Trailing 48-42 with 9:01 to play, the Tigers got things rolling on a lay-up by Haliena Snowden. The Tigers pulled to within two at 48-46 with 7:58 remaining on a jumper by Katrina Wheeler. Meredith Kennedy then stepped up and hit back-to-back threes to give Towson its first lead of the contest. James Madison got a lay-up from Brittany Crowell with 5:42 to play and make it a 52-50 game. That would be the last field goal the Dukes would make in the contest as Towson scored nine of the final 10 points to seal the victory.
“I thought we did well to make the necessary adjustments at halftime,” said Coach Joe Mathews. “They went to zone and we found the open shots including the big three-pointers from Meredith and I'm proud of our girls for hanging in there.”
The Tigers and Dukes had started the game battling each other on both ends of the court. Wheeler's jumper at 16:16 of the first half gave Towson a 7-4 advantage. The Dukes responded with an 8-0 run to go on top 12-7 with 12:32 to go in the half. Towson would cut the visitors' lead back down to one on a three-pointer from Brandy Black at 11:34 before James Madison scored eight unanswered points to push its lead to 20-11 with 8:47 to play. Dawn Evans knocked down six of the Dukes' eight points during that stretch.
Towson would cut its deficit back down to four with 4:30 to play. The two teams would then trade buckets over the final four minutes before Shanae Baker-Brice drained a trey with one second remaining to send Towson into the half trailing 27-25.
The two teams continued to battle hard coming out of the break with James Madison's lead fluctuating between one and six points. Omara Parker hit the back end of a two-shot situation at the foul line to make it a 45-42 game with 10:17 to play before James Madison pushed its lead back up to six, setting the stage for the Tigers' late run.
Baker-Brice led the Tigers with 20 points on the night, her fifth 20-point performance of the season. She would also added six rebounds, five assists and six steals. Wheeler had a “double-double” with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Kennedy's six points were a career high.
Evans led the Dukes with 16 points and five assists while Lauren Jimenez added 12 points. Nina Uqdah had eight points and nine rebounds.
The Tigers return to action on Sunday, February 1 when they travel to Delaware for a 1 p.m. contest.
