TOWSON, Md. - Despite placing five players in double figures, the Tigers fell to Hofstra by an 81-74 score on Thursday night in Colonial Athletic Association play. Towson (7-10, 1-5 CAA) was led by Dovile Miliauskaite's second straight "double-double" performance.

"Hofstra came ready play tonight and when they are hitting threes like that they are tough to defend," said Coach Joe Mathews. "I thought Jaleesa Dryver played well for us defensively tonight and you will probably see her back in the starting line-up soon."

The Pride jumped out to a quick 12-2 advantage in the game behind back-to-back treys from Candice Bellocchio. A couple of buckets by Aamira Terry put the visitors up 16-4 with 12:48 remaining in the first half. Towson scored eight of the next 11 points to pull to within seven, 19-12 with 10:12 to play in the half. Krystal Parnell had four points for the Tigers during that stretch. Hofstra responded by scoring 12 of the next 14 to take a 31-14 lead with 6:53 to play. Kate Loper drained a pair of triples during that run. Simona Petronyte then scored seven unanswered points for the Tigers. Petronyte's run pulled the Tigers to within ten at 31-21 with 3:54 remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets over the final three plus minutes with Anma Onyeuku's lay-up just before the buzzer giving Hofstra a 41-30 lead at the break.

Hofstra shot 54.8% in the first half and had 10 points and eight rebounds from Shante Evans at the break. Petronyte led the Tigers at the half with nine points after the home team shot 37.9% in the half.

The two teams traded baskets over the opening minutes of the second stanza. The Hofstra lead fluctuated between 11 and 14 points during that stretch as Evans' bucket at 16:32 made it a 52-38 game. Back-to-back baskets by Deree Fooks made it a 52-42 game with 14:06 to play. A Miliauskaite free throw at 13:37 pulled the Tigers to within nine, 52-43. Hofstra would score 10 of the next 11 points to hold a 62-44 lead with 10:01 to play. It was the Pride's largest lead of the game. Bellocchio drained a pair of free throws at 9:36 to give the Pride a 64-46 advantage. The Tigers would respond by scoring nine unanswered points to make it a 64-55 game with 8:02 to play. Miliauskaite had five of the nine while Fooks tallied the other four.

The two teams continued to trade baskets as a Bellocchio trey at 3:20 put the visitors up 74-59. Towson responded with a 10-1 run to pull to within six, 75-69 with 40 seconds to play. Sheree Ledbetter had six of the Tigers' 10 during that stretch. That would be as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the way. Hofstra went 5-of-6 from the line in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.

Towson shot 50% from the floor in the second half to Hofstra's 47.6%.

Miliauskaite led Towson with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was her second straight "double-double" and sixth of the season. She tied her career-high in points in the contest. Fooks and Petronyte each added 13 points and four rebounds. Parnell finished with 12 points and six assists while Ledbetter added 11.

Evans led Hofstra with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Bellocchio tallied 17 points with four assists.

Towson hits the road for its next contest on Sunday, January 23. The Tigers will visit Old Dominion for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Norfolk.

-- TOWSONTIGERS.COM --