EARLY START: The Tiger women's basketball team hosts UMBC for an 11 a.m. tip from SECU Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The Tigers and Retrievers will be joined by children from the local elementary and middle schools for the game. Fans who can't get to SECU for Tuesday morning's tip can follow the game via live stats or on Towson Sports Network with Ben Rosenbaum and Ian Jett calling the action.

SERIES HISTORY: Towson resumes one of its longest running nonconference rivalries with today's game against UMBC. Today's game will be the 49th all-time meeting between the two teams, whose campuses are separated by just 20 miles. The Tigers lead the series 35-14 and have won four straight following a 59-54 victory last year at UMBC. Head Coach Niki Reid Geckeler picked up her 100th career coaching victory in the win. Towson jumped out to a 29-17 halftime lead and held off a late charge by the Retrievers. UMBC's last win in the series came during the 2010-11 season at home.

STEM GAME: The Tigers play host to approximately 2,000 elementary and middle school students as part of today's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) game. The Tigers visited several of the schools in the weeks leading up to the game to work on STEM questions and get the kids excited for the game. Students in attendance completed a STEM workbook before attending the contest and had a chance to participate in work stations before the game dealing with STEM topics.  

BANGING THE BOARDS: A trio of Tigers turned in career performances on the boards against Coppin State. Sophomore center Daijha Thomas pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds against Coppin State. It was Thomas' second double digit rebounding performance of the season. She currently ranks fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) while averaging 10.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Dominique Johnson had a career-high eight rebounds against Coppin State. Freshman forward Brittany Tarr pulled down a career-best five rebounds in the contest.

WE'LL TAKE THE CHARITY: Towson turned its best performance of the season at the foul line on Sunday at Coppin State. The Tigers were 25-for-35 (71.4%) from the charity stripe against the Eagles. Seven of the nine Tigers who saw action in the game made at least one free throw. That group was led by senior guard Dominique Johnson (8-for-8) while sophomore guard Breonn Hughey was 6-for-6. It was the most free throws made by the Tigers since they had 25 in a pair of games during the 2011-12 season. Towson is 40-for-57 (70%) in the last two games combined. The Tigers, who are shooting 72.7% (48-for-66) this season, rank fourth in the CAA for free throw percentage. Hughey is a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line this season and is tied for the CAA lead in free throw percentage.

SCORING SUCCESS: The Tigers are averaging 72.3 points per game through their first three contests. The Tigers have reached that number due to the scoring success of three of their guards. Junior guard Raven Bankston, freshman guard Sianni Martin and senior guard Dominique Johnson are all ranked among the top 10 in points per game entering play this week. Bankston leads the league as she is averaging 20.0 points per game. Johnson is pouring in 16.7 points per game which is sixth in the league. Martin is tallying 16.0 points per game to be tied for seventh. The Tigers are the only team in the league with three players ranked in the top 10.

UP NEXT: Towson hits the road for four straight, making visits to Florida, New York and Minnesota. That trip starts this weekend as the Tigers head south to face Western Illinois and North Florida in the North Florida Thanksgiving Tournament. Towson returns home Dec. 20 to host Auburn.