TOWSON, Md. - A strong defensive effort lifted the Tigers to a 72-57 victory over Northeastern on Monday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association play. Towson (11-11, 5-6 CAA) won its second straight after the game had been postponed on Sunday due to the weather problems.
"I thought defensively we really did a nice job and got the rebounds when we needed them," said Coach Joe Mathews. "It was good to get a strong performance from Katrina Wheeler under the basket and Shanae Baker-Brice did another good job of handling the ball and getting to the hoop."
Northeastern jumped out to an early lead in the contest as Kim Carr's lay-up at 13:50 made it an 11-6 game. The Tigers cut the visitors' lead to three on a Haliena Snowden lay-up. The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes with Carr's bucket at 8:10 giving Northeastern a 20-13 lead. Omara Parker hit a three-pointer at 7:32 to jump start a 17-7 Tigers run to close out the first half. Baker-Brice had seven of the Tigers' 17 during that stretch and the home team took a 30-27 lead into the half.
Towson opened the second half on a 9-3 run to take a 39-30 lead with 14:05 to play. The two teams traded baskets on each end of the floor over the next several minutes and after a pair of free throws by Baker-Brice at 10:44, Towson led 47-38. Carr hit a bucket at 9:58 to start a 10-4 Northeastern run and allowed the visitors to cut the Tiger lead to 51-48 with 7:33 to play. Snowden converted a three-point play at 5:44 to extend the Tigers' lead to six, 54-48.
The Tiger lead would fluctuate between four and eight points over the next several minutes and stood at 56-52 with 3:33 to play. Towson closed the second half on a 16-5 run to claim the 72-57 victory. The Tigers helped their cause by going 12-for-14 from the foul line over the final three and a half minutes. Baker-Brice was 10-for-12 from the charity stripe during that stretch.
Baker-Brice led the Tigers with 29 points on the night. She would also add three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Wheeler just missed a "double-double" after posting a career-high 17 rebounds and eight points in the game. Dovile Miliauskaite would add 12 points and six rebounds to the Tigers' cause. For the second straight game, the Tigers won the battle on the boards as they held a 43-30 rebounding edge.
Brittany Wilson led Northeastern on the night with 15 points and nine rebounds while Carr finished with 12 points and four rebounds. Kashaia Cannon was the third Huskies player in double figures with 10 on the night.
Towson returns to action on Thursday, February 11 when it hosts Georgia State at 7 p.m.
-- TIGERS --
