And So It Begins: The Towson University women's basketball team kicks off the 2017-18 season and its first under new head coach
Diane Richardson on Sunday, November 12. Richardson and the Tigers travel to the University of Massachusetts for a 2 p.m. tip from the Mullins Center. Links to the live stats and the video feed can be found on the schedule page of TowsonTigers.com. Fans can also follow the Tigers on Twitter (
@Towson_WBB) for updates.
Series History: For the second straight season the Tigers will open the year against a team from the state of Massachusetts, this time taking on the UMass Minutewomen. The Tigers have never faced UMass before and it will be the first of two contests for Towson this season against teams the Tigers have never faced before (Arkansas Pine-Bluff). The contest against UMass will also be the Tigers' first of three against teams from the Atlantic 10 (George Washington and Saint Joseph's). The Tigers have had their most success against A-10 foe, VCU who use to be a member of the CAA. Towson has 10 series wins against the Rams.
Welcome to the Tiger Den: Fans glancing at the Tiger bench will see plenty of new faces as Towson kicks off the 2017-18 campaign. Head coach
Diane Richardson is in her first season leading the squad after serving as the assistant coach at West Virginia last year. Richardson's new coaching staff includes assistants
Zach Kancher,
Wanisha Smith and
Billie Wilson.
Towson also has five players that will don the Black and Gold for the first time this season. Guards
Danielle Durjan and
Kayla Davis are transfer players. Durjan played last year at Harford Community College while Davis played her previous collegiate basketball at Xavier. The Tigers are also welcoming freshmen guards
Rayna Barbour and
Jalynn Holmes and freshman forward
Tess Borgosz. Barbour and Holmes are Maryland natives while Borgosz hails from New York.
I'm Honored: One of the Tigers' seniors was honored as the Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) teams were released at Media Day last month. Redshirt senior guard
Raine Bankston earned Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention accolades. Bankston appeared in 30 games last season and made 27 starts for the Tigers. She led the team with 84 assists and ranked second on the squad with 60 steals. Bankston also averaged 7.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Let's Get This Thing Started: The Tigers kick off their 36th season as a Division I program and 17th as a member of the CAA today. It is the Tigers' first season under the direction of head coach
Diane Richardson. The Tigers are opening the season on the road for the third time in the last four years. Towson will be looking for back-to-back road wins to open the season for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Last year, the Tigers defeated UMass Lowell 90-56 in their opener.
One More to Tie Mom: Senior
Daijha Thomas has been a solid force in the post for the Tigers during her career. After blocking over 20 shots in each of the last two seasons, she enters her final campaign with 60 career blocks. That ranks just outside the top 10 for career blocks at Towson. With one more blocked shot, Thomas would move into a tie with her mom,
Gail Scriber (1980-84) for ninth place on the career blocks list at Towson. Also in the tie for ninth is
Katrina Wheeler, who had 61 blocks between 2008-10.
I'll Take That: Towson made good use of its quick hands last season. The Tigers finished with 304 steals and ranked second in the CAA while averaging 10.1 steals per game. The Tigers were one of two teams in the CAA to average 10 or more steals per game. Nine Tigers recorded double-digit steals last season and the Tigers' top returner in that category is redshirt senior
Raine Bankston who had 60. Also back is fellow senior
Daijha Thomas who collected 20 steals.
Up Next: The Tigers will be back on the court when they play their home opener on Thursday, November 16. Towson welcomes to George Washington to SECU Arena for a 7 p.m. tip.
