TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's basketball team played its first-ever home game under the guidance of first-year head coach
Diane Richardson Thursday night. And despite a 66-43 setback against visiting George Washington, the crowd of over 1,200 guests remained enthusiastic throughout the game.
The Tigers (0-2) used a strong defensive second quarter to pull within three of the Colonials (1-2), but the visitors pulled away late in the second half.
How It Happened
- GW jumped out to a quick 14-2 lead in the early half of the opening quarter.
- Towson hits its stride in the first quarter as Mary Cuevas made good on an and-one opportunity.
- Later in the quarter, Cuevas missed the second of two free throws, but Jalynn Holmes collected the rebound, with Raine Bankston eventually hitting a three-pointer to make it 15-9.
- Trailing 27-11 at the start of the second quarter, Towson's defense took over, limiting the Colonials to just four points for the next 10 minutes.
- Through the first five minutes of the second stanza, Towson held GW off the board while engineering an 11-0 run to start.
- Towson pulled within five at the 1:09 mark of the second quarter as Kayla Davis knocked down a jumper. The Colonials got a last-second layup from Kelly Brange to end the first half 31-24.
- Out of the break, GW used a defensive stand of its own, scoring 21 points while holding Towson to nine. In the final frame, Towson's defense again found its grove, holding GW to 14 points.
- The Tigers scored 10 points, getting a balanced effort as four different players scored in the final period, including four from Nukiya Mayo.
Behind the Numbers
- Towson struggled with its shooting early in the game, hitting just 25 percent in the first quarter, but went 6-for-16 in the second quarter, a 12-percentage point improvement.
- For the game, Towson shot 32.7 percent, while GW hit 42.1 percent of its shots. The Colonials knocked down eight of their 11 shots in the opening quarter (72.7 percent).
- Towson held George Washington to just four points in the second quarter. That is the fewest points allowed in a quarter by the Tigers since women's basketball went to the format in 2015-16. The previous best was a five-point quarter by UMBC on Nov. 22, 2016.
- Cuevas led the Tigers with 13 points, while Bankston capped her evening with nine. GW's Brianna Cummings had a game-best 17 points, scoring on seven of her 10 shots.
- Mayo logged eight rebounds, including five on defense. Towson out-rebounded George Washington 37-36, marking a second-straight game in which the Tigers grabbed more boards than their opponents.
Up Next For Towson
- The Tigers hit the road on Sunday for a match up at ACC foe Pitt (2-1).
- Game time is set for 2 p.m. at the Panthers' Petersen Events Center.
- Sunday's action will be carried on ACCN Extra.
- Towson returns home on Tuesday for a special STEM Day game. Tipoff against crosstown rival UMBC is slated for 11 a.m. at SECU Arena
- TowsonTigers.com –