TOWSON, Md. – Junior guard Raven Bankston poured in a game-high 23 points to help lift the Towson University women's basketball team to a 61-51 victory over UMBC on Tuesday morning in SECU Arena. Sophomore center Daijha Thomas grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in front of a women's basketball record crowd of 2,333 on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Day.

THE BASICS
Towson 61, UMBC 51
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams struggled to find a shooting rhythm at the start of the game. There were a combined 12 points scored in the first 10 minutes of play. Towson jumped out to a 5-0 lead with all of its points coming from Bankston. Five straight points from Taylor McCarley allowed UMBC (2-3) to tie the game at 5-5 with 2:46 to go in the quarter. A late jumper from Thomas gave Towson a 7-5 lead after one.
• Towson scored eight of the first 11 points in the second quarter and held a 15-8 lead with 7:01 to go in the half. Freshman Sianni Martin and senior Dominique Johnson each connected on a three-pointer during that stretch. Four straight points from Pandora Wilson pulled the Retrievers to within three, 15-12 with 5:26 to go in the quarter. A pair of jumpers from Bankston and another three from Johnson pushed the home team's advantage to 22-12 with 3:29 left on the clock. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch as Towson took a 27-20 advantage at the half.
• Towson shot 36.7% from the field in the first half and made five three-pointers. UMBC shot 21.4% from the field and made 5-of-6 from the foul line.
• The Tigers started the third quarter on an 8-1 run and extended their lead to 35-21 with 4:41 to go. Bankston and sophomore guard Breonn Hughey each had four points during that run. The two teams continued to battle on both ends of the court. Redshirt sophomore forward Jordyn Smith connected on a jumper at 1:17 that gave Towson a 41-26 advantage. That was Towson's largest lead of the game. UMBC got a jumper from McCarley in the final 20 seconds which made it 41-31 at the end of the third.
• UMBC opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run and pulled to within three, 44-41 with 6:36 to play. McCarley led UMBC with five points during that run. Towson responded by scoring six of the next nine points for a 50-44 advantage with 3:32 to go in the game. Freshman forward Brittany Tarr made a jumper to cap that run for the Tigers. Stixz Wilson made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 2:47 showing on the clock which pulled UMBC to within three, 50-47. However that was as close as the Retrievers would get. Towson closed the game on an 11-4 run to secure the 61-51 victory. Johnson led the Tigers with five points during that closing stretch.

QUOTABLE

• "Defense, defense, defense," said Towson head coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "It's been a focal point for us after the first couple of games, my young ladies came in, bought in, played together, defended, rebounded and did what they needed to do down the stretch."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Tigers set a new attendance record for a women's basketball game at Towson with 2,333 fans in attendance. Most of the crowd in attendance were elementary and middle school students who participated in STEM activities on the concourse before the game. The previous attendance record had been 2,243 set against Maryland during the 2009-10 season.
• Bankston led all scorers with 23 points in the game. She also added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• All nine Tigers who appeared in the game scored at least two points. Seven of the nine Tigers recorded at least two rebounds.
• For the second straight game, Thomas set her career-high in rebounds, this time with 14.
• Johnson was the second Tiger to score in double figures with 11. She enters Friday's game needing 10 points to become the 16^th player in program history to score at least 1,000 points.

The Tigers are back in action when the North Florida Tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 27. Towson will face Western Illinois on Friday at 1 p.m. and North Florida on Saturday at 3 p.m.