NEWARK, Del. –For the first time in program history, the Towson University women's basketball team advances to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship game after a 69-48 win over ninth-seeded Hofstra on Friday.

The fourth-seeded Tigers (19-12) scored a CAA-Championship record 29 points in the second quarter, followed by another 19 in the third to put a huge gap between themselves and the Pride. Nukiya Mayo and Q. Murray posted double-digit points, including 22 from Mayo and another 10 from Murray. One of the best blocking teams in the country, Towson swatted away six Pride attempts. Murrary led Towson with six assists.

Towson awaits the results of the second semifinal on Friday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center. Second-seeded Drexel takes on sixth-seeded Northeastern at 4 p.m.
 
How it Happened

• Ryan Holder opened the game with the first bucket, a layup 45 seconds in. Back and forth scoring continued as the team traded baskets through the first four minutes.
• A scoring silence opened at the 6:09 mark before Kionna Jeter made two free throws at 4:06 taking a one point lead.
• With more missed shots and turnovers neither team scored again until Q. Murray went to the line at 1:51. Towson ended the first period with a four-point lead on 55.6 percent field goal shooting.
• In the second quarter, the Tigers held Hofstra to just seven points while scoring 29. With 13 points from Nukiya Mayo, Towson rolled out to an 18 point lead with 5:51 to go in the half.
• Mayo scored the first five points of the quarter and one minute later made a layup and two three-point buckets consecutively.
• With 2:16 left in the half, the Tigers led by 29 before Hofstra cut the lead to one on a free throw. Entering the locker room Towson led 43-17 with 15 points from Mayo.
• In the first half the Tigers shot 57.1 from the field, 60 from three and 80 from the line.
• Mayo did not stop, scoring the first bucket of the second half. She helped lead her team to a 19-16 third quarter with seven points while Danielle Durjan and Kionna Jeter scored four each.
• Towson almost reached the 30-point lead mark with a 29-point advantage and 47 seconds left in the period.
• In the fourth, the Pride scored six of the first eight points, cutting the lead to 25 with 6:45 remaining. The Tigers held onto their lead, up by 23 with 5:02 to go.
• Murray, Durjan and Shavonne Scoop all scored for Towson and held on for the 21-point victory.

Beyond the Box

• This was Nukiya Mayo's 25th game in 2018-19 with double figures in points. IT was her fifth game with at least 20 points.
• Towson's assist leader, Q. Murray, had seven helpers for the sixth time this year. She now has 138 on the season and is third all-time in single season assists for Towson.
• Mayo had two blocks on the day, putting her at 46 for the year and she is tied for ninth all-time in single season blocks.
• With nine points today, Kionna Jeter has 542 on the year, she is sixth in program history for single season points. Jeter also moves up to fourth in single season field goals made.
• This was Towson's second game of the season with a 50 percent or better field goal percentage, the other game this year was at Hofstra in February.
• The second quarter was the 15^th time this season the Tigers have held an opponent to less than 10 points in a quarter.
• Towson remains undefeated on Friday's with a 9-0 mark.
• With 19 wins the Tigers have more than doubled last year's wins (nine) and completed one of the best turnarounds in the nation.

 
Up Next
Towson will face the winner of the CAA Semifinal game between Drexel and Northeastern and will play in the CAA Championship tomorrow, Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center. Tickets are available at the box office on site, on BlueHens.com or by contacting Scott Casten. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Philadelphia with a live stream on CAAtv.com.