HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior guard Raven Bankston led all scorers with 30 points but it was enough as No. 9 Hofstra posted a 77-66 win over the No. 8 Towson University women's basketball team on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament at James Madison.

Bankston is just the second player in program history with four games of 30 or more points in the same season (Janet Flora-1980).

THE BASICS
No. 9 Hofstra 77, No. 8 Towson 66
Convocation Center, Harrisonburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Pride opened the game on a 15-3 run as Aleana Leon hit a three-pointer at 5:21 of the first period.
• Towson responded with an 8-0 run and cut the Pride lead to four, 15-11 with 1:01 to go in the stanza. Redshirt junior guard Raine Bankston had four points for the Tigers during that stretch.
• Ashunae Durant hit the final bucket of the period and Hofstra took a 17-11 lead after one stanza.
• Hofstra had the hot hand shooting the ball in the second quarter. The Pride shot 57.1 percent from the field in that 10 minute stretch and extended its lead to 38-27 at the half.
• Towson opened the third quarter on a 7-4 run and cut the Hofstra lead to eight, 42-34 with 6:51 showing on the clock. Raven Bankston had four of the Tigers' seven during that stretch.
• Hofstra closed the quarter by scoring 17 of the final 20 points and took a 59-37 lead with 10 minutes to play.
• Towson scored 14 of the first 20 points in the fourth quarter and cut the Hofstra lead to 65-52 with 5:34 to play. Raven Bankston had five points during that stretch while freshman guard Nukiya Mayo added four points.
• The two teams continued to battle down the stretch.
• Towson outscored the Pride 8-1 over the final two minutes which made the final score 77-66 in favor of the Pride.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field but made eight three-pointers in the game. Hofstra shot 47.3 percent from the field and made seven triples. Both teams made 18 shots from the foul line.
• Raven Bankston led all scorers with 30 points and added five steals and three assists. Her 30 points gave her 518 for the season. She is the sixth player in program history to score 500 or more points in a single-season. Her five steals gave her 96 swipes for the season which ranks second in single-season history at Towson.
• Raine Bankston added 17 points, two assists and two steals while Mayo finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
• Junior center Daijha Thomas led Towson on the boards with six.
• Krystal Luciano led a balanced Hofstra effort with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Tigers lose Raven Bankston and Brianna Bush to graduation but will return the rest of their core group next season.