PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Towson University women's basketball outscored the University of Pittsburgh, 45-38 in the second half but it was not enough to overcome the Tigers' halftime deficit as the Panthers claimed the 81-63 victory on Sunday afternoon. Junior guard Danielle Durjan led the Tigers' efforts with 17 points in the game.

THE BASICS
Pitt 81, Towson 63
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Panthers (3-1) opened the game on a 10-0 run as Danielle Garven capped the run with a bucket at 5:27.
• Redshirt senior Raine Bankston connected on a three-pointer at 4:21 which got the Tigers on the board.
• The Panthers continued to push the offensive tempo and took a 20-5 lead after 10 minutes of play.
• Sophomore guard Etalyia Vogt had a solid four-point play for the Tigers in the second quarter. Vogt sunk her three-pointer at 4:09 and the free throw that followed.
• The two teams traded buckets throughout the second quarter as Pitt took a 43-18 halftime lead.
• Towson scored eight of the first 13 points in the third quarter, which made it a 48-26 game with 7:47 left on the clock. Bankston had five straight points for the Tigers during that stretch.
• Vogt drained a three-pointer at 5:36 which jump started a 13-2 run by the Tigers. That scoring spurt made it a 55-42 game with 1:51 left in the stanza. Vogt had five points during that stretch while redshirt junior center Maia Lee chipped in four points.
• Pitt responded by scoring six of the final eight points in the period and took a 61-44 lead after three.
• The Panthers pushed their lead to 22, 70-48 on a three-pointer from Cassidy Walsh at 6:22 of the fourth quarter.
• Towson scored 13 of the next 18 points and pulled to within 14, 75-61 with 2:35 to play. Durjan hit a pair of three-pointers during that stretch while sophomore forward Nukiya Mayo converted a traditional three-point play.
• The two teams continued to battle before Pitt went 4-for-6 from the foul line in the final minute of play to seal the 81-63 win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson scored a season-high 63 points in the game.
• For the third straight game, the Tigers won the rebounding battle as they had 46 boards to Pitt's 36 rebounds. Of the 11 Tigers who appeared in the game, nine of them grabbed at least one rebound. Mayo led Towson with a career-high 10 boards. Senior Mary Cuevas added eight rebounds in the game.
• Durjan scored 17 points in the game after draining five three-pointers and going 2-for-2 from the foul line. It was the most three-pointers by a Tiger since Raven Bankston had five in last year's season opener against UMass Lowell.
• Bankston contributed 16 points while Vogt added 12 points.
• Towson recorded seven blocks for the second time this season. Lee led the Tigers with four blocks while senior center Daijha Thomas added two.
• Yacine Diop led Pitt with 24 points and nine rebounds.

The Tigers will be back in action when they host UMBC on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 11 a.m. It will be the Tigers' STEM Day game and will they will be joined by local elementary and middle school students.