TOWSON, Md. -The Tigers went 8-of-9 from the foul line in the last two minutes to secure a 65-55 come-from-behind victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday night. Simona Petronyte led all scorers with 17 points for the Tigers (1-1).

"I'm pleased with the victory tonight," said Coach Joe Mathews. "We definitely made some improvements from Friday and we can still keep improving."

Trailing 35-30 to begin the second half, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to take a 37-35 lead with 16:08 to play. Dovile Miliauskaite had four of the Tigers' seven during that stretch. The two teams traded baskets and with the score tied at 39-39, Towson went on a 7-2 run to take a 46-41 lead. St. Francis would respond with a 7-2 run of its own to tie the game at 48-48 with 8:09 to play. Sheree Ledbetter would sink a lay-up at 7:04 to put the Tigers back on top, to stay. Ledbetter's basket jump started a 9-3 run by the home team and they led 57-51 with 2:39 to play. Brittany Lilley would hit a jumper at 2:30 to make it 57-53 game but that was as close as the Red Flash would get the rest of the way.

Towson would take advantage of its opportunities at the foul line down the stretch, outscoring the Red Flash 8-2 over the final two minutes with all of those points coming at the line. Krystal Parnell had three points for the Tigers during that run.

"I thought we did a better job defensively in the second half," said Parnell. "Coach mentioned it at halftime and we stepped up."

St. Francis opened the game on an 11-4 run and led with 15:30 to play in the half. The Tigers would cut the Red Flash's advantage to two with a jumper from Ledbetter and a three-pointer from Petronyte. The two teams would trade baskets before an Allison Smith lay-up at 11:52 to put the visitors up 21-13. The Red Flash would eventually extend its lead to 28-15 with 7:47 to play in the half. Towson would close the half on a 15-7 run to cut its deficit at the break to five points.

Petronyte added six rebounds, four assists and two steals to go along with her 17 points. Miliauskaite posted her second straight "double-double" with 11 points and 12 rebounds. She also contributed two steals and a block. Deree Fooks finished just shy of a "double-double" with 12 points and nine rebounds. Parnell added nine points, six boards and four assists. Ledbetter also posted nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Samantha Leach led St. Francis with 13 points and four rebounds while Lilley contributed 12 points and seven assists. Shene Fleming led the Red Flash on the boards with eight.

The Tigers return to action when they hit the road for the first time this season, on Thursday, November 18. Towson travels to College Park to face the Maryland Terrapins at 7 p.m.

-- TIGERS --