WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Shanae Baker-Brice sunk a pair of free throws with six seconds left to hold off a William & Mary late rally and lift the Tigers to a 63-60 win. Towson (13-11, 7-6 CAA) won its fourth straight behind 23 points from Baker-Brice.
Baker-Brice, who now has 1,721 career points moved into the Colonial Athletic Association's top ten for career scoring.
"I'm really thrilled to get a road win and especially in such a close game as this one," said Coach Joe Mathews. "We said at the beginning of the season that we needed our seniors to step up and lead the way and today I thought they really did that."
William & Mary opened up an early 10-4 lead in the game behind a lay-up from Taysha Pye at 14:53. The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes as the Tribe's lead would go back and forth between four and seven points. Pye hit a bucket at 10:41 to give William & Mary a 19-10 advantage. It was the Tribe's largest lead of the game. Haliena Snowden converted a three-point play at 10:02 to jump start a 19-8 Tiger run. That run allowed the Tigers to take a 29-27 lead at the half. Charmonique Watt came off the bench to spark the Tigers during that stretch with eight points, including a pair of big three-pointers.
The two teams battled up and down the court at the start of the second half. Pye hit a jumper at 17:12 to tie the game at 33-33. Towson responded with an 8-2 run to take a 41-35 lead with 14:35 to play. Baker-Brice had all eight of the Tigers' points during that stretch. Jaleesa Dryver grabbed a rebound and put the ball back up for a bucket at 13:08 to give Towson a 43-37. The Tiger lead would fluctuate between two and five points over the next five minutes.
Janine Aldridge hit a trey at 8:31 to make it a 51-49 game. The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run to increase their lead to 60-49 with 5:06 to go. Katherine DeHenzel connected on a triple at 4:41 to make it a 60-52 game. That bucket started an 11-1 run for the Tribe. Pye capped the run by hitting one of two from the foul line with seven seconds remaining to make it a 61-60 game. Baker-Brice was fouled with six seconds remaining and sunk both to seal the victory.
Baker-Brice had her third straight 20+ point performance and 12th time this season. She also had five rebounds, which gives her 500+ boards for her career. She is the seventh player in school history to record 1,000+ points and 500+ rebounds in her career and the first guard to accomplish the feat. Baker-Brice would also add three assists and four steals.
Katrina Wheeler posted her second straight "double-double" and third of the season after contributing 10 points and 14 rebounds. It was the fifth double digit rebounding game for the senior forward. Snowden was the third Tiger in double figures as she finished with 14 points and eight boards.
Pye finished with a game-high 25 points for the Tribe while Benson contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds. Benson also went over 1,000 rebounds for her career.
Towson returns to action and puts its four-game win streak on the line on Thursday, February 18 at Drexel. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
-- TIGERS --
