TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's basketball team is set to return home and begin its three-game Thanksgiving week homestand with Millersville on Tuesday Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
The Towson men's basketball team will also be playing earlier in the day at 2 p.m. against Penn.
WNIT Success
The Tigers left Raleigh, North Carolina with two wins at the conclusion of the WNIT Preseason Classic. The team defeated both Florida (87-70) and Wofford (64-48) at the completion of the road trip.
Aleah Nelson dropped a season-high 39 points against the Gators while also adding eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Nelson also hit a career-best 11 from the field and netted 6-of-7 from deep. Tarriyonna Gary (16), Allie Kubek (11) also joined the guard in double figure scoring. Anissa Rivera earned her second consecutive double-double, with 11 points and 13 boards.
A day later against the Terriers, Kubek led her team with a career-high 25 points. She shot 10-for-14 from the field in addition to adding eight rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Once again, the forward was not alone in double-digits as Nelson (13) and Gary (11) also joined her. Ryann Evans led the team off the glass with 12 rebounds.
At the end of the three-game tournament, Nelson (23p, 6.3r, 5a) and Kubek (14.3p, 3.3r, 1.3b) were both named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team.
Power (Five) Moves
The Tigers beat SEC opponent Florida during the first day of the WNIT, 87-70. The victory marks the first power five win for the Tigers since the 2009-10 season when the team defeated Maryland.
Breaking Records
Nelson scored a career-high 39 points to set a new building record at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum. The record was previously held by Wolfpack-great Andrea Stinson, who set it 30 years ago against North Carolina (2/12/91).
Coming Home
Five of 14 student-athletes on Towson's roster represent their home state of Maryland. Nelson is the lone Baltimore native while Kubek (Elkton), Evans (Columbia), Tucker (New Carrollton) and Rivera (Capitol Heights) are also from close by.
In The Rankings
The Tigers sit atop the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in both three-point field goals attempted (101) and made (31). The team also ranks 27th in the NCAA and second in the conference in rebounds per game with 45.75 boards.
Nelson ranks in the top-50 in the nation 10 statistical categories. She is 15th in points per game with 22 as well as 31st with 24 assists.
A Clean Slate
This will be Towson's first all-time meeting with Millersville, despite the two being just a 68 miles drive apart.
The Marauders will be the third opponent this season, after Florida and Wofford, that the Tigers are facing for the first time in program history.
Scouting the Marauders
Millersville is off to a 3-1 start after losing its two most recent contests to Chestnut Hill (45-66) and District of Columbia (56-61). The team did win their second game of the season against Shaw, 68-55.
Sharay Hall was hired as the head coach of the Marauders in September 2020. As the team did not play a 2020-21 season due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, this is her first season coaching on the floor as the head of the program.
Lauren Lister leads Millersville averaging 13.0 points per game. Brenna Ortwein leads the team off the glass averaging 5.3 rebounds. The freshman guard has also collected five assists, four steals and three blocks through four contests.
Looking Ahead
To finish out the month of November, the Tigers will host Howard on Nov. 27 (2 p.m.) and Delaware State on Nov. 29 (7 p.m.). The team will then spend the first two weeks of December on the road.
Food Drive
On Tuesday, November 23 both the Towson men's and women's basketball teams will be accepting canned and boxed food donations to help out the local community this holiday season. The men play at 2 p.m. while the women play at 7 p.m. Donations can be made at the door of entry.
Tigers in the Community
For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season. Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations. The Tigers won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
