JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Towson University women's basketball team exploded for 83 points in an 83-77 win over Western Illinois in the opening game of the University of North Florida Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday afternoon. The 83 points scored by the Tigers (2-3) were the most by a Tiger team since the 2006-07 season.

THE BASICS
Towson 83, Western Illinois 77
UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Three straight baskets from freshman guard Sianni Martin helped the Tigers open up a 6-2 lead with 8:04 to go in the first quarter. Western Illinois (2-3) responded with an 10-2 run and took a 12-8 advantage with 3:52 left on the clock Sophie Reichelt scored eight of the Leathernecks' 10 during that stretch. A three-pointer from Emily Clemens pushed the Western Illinois lead to 15-10 with 2:09 left in the quarter. That was the Leathernecks' largest lead of the game. Towson scored the final six points of the quarter. The final two points came as Martin had a steal and a lay-up which gave Towson a 16-15 edge after 10 points of play.
• Towson hit three three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second quarter which helped the Tigers take a 27-19 lead with 8:03 on the clock. Western Illinois scored 11 of the next 13 points and took a 30-29 lead with 5:03 left in the half. Reichelt scored six of the 11 points during that stretch for the Leathernecks. Back-to-back threes from Martin and freshman guard AJ Timbers pushed the Towson lead to 35-30 with 4:11 left in the quarter. Towson scored six of the final 11 points in the quarter and took a 41-35 lead at the half. Redshirt sophomore forward Jordyn Smith had a pair of lay-ups down the stretch for the Tigers.
• Towson shot 48.6% from the field and nailed five three-pointers in the first half. Western Illinois shot 40% from the field. Martin led the Tigers with 16 points while Reichelt led all scorers with 20 points.
• Western Illinois opened by the third quarter on an 11-5 run and tied the game at 46-46. Reichelt tallied five of the 11 for the Leathernecks. An 8-3 run by the Tigers gave Towson a 54-49 lead with 3:06 to go in the quarter. Sophomore center Daijha Thomas scored six of the Tigers' eight points. Timbers connected on a triple at 1:45 that pushed the Towson lead to 59-52. The two teams traded baskets before a three-pointer from sophomore guard Breonn Hughey gave Towson a 62-58 lead at the end of three.
• Western Illinois cut the Towson lead to one, 67-66 with 7:10 to go in the fourth quarter. However that was as close as the Leathernecks would get the rest of the way. The Towson lead fluctuated between two and nine points over the final seven minutes of play. A pair of free throws from senior guard Dominique Johnson with 10 seconds left helped seal the 83-77 victory.  

QUOTABLE

• "On any given night, we've got the offensive tools it's just a matter of can we get it going," said Towson head coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "Tonight we had some other people step up and it was big. We've shown we can rebound and tonight the inside offense showed how effective we can keep when it catches up to what our guards can do."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Tigers scored 83 points in the game. It was the most by a Tiger team since the 2006-07 Towson squad scored 83 in a win over Norfolk State.
• Martin had a season-high 23 points and six rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.
• Thomas recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 12 points and 12 rebounds.
• Timbers connected on a season-high four three-pointers for a season-best 12 points. Smith added a career-high 10 points to go with seven rebounds.
• Hughey had nine points, a game-high six assists and four rebounds for the Tigers.
• Johnson contributed nine points and enters tomorrow's game needing one point to become the 16^th player in program history with 1,000 career points.
• Reichelt led all scorers with 34 points in the game.

The Tigers are back in action when they conclude the North Florida Thanksgiving Tournament by facing the host Ospreys on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPN3.