Towson, Md. – Off to its best start since the 2008-09 season at 7-1, the Towson University women's basketball team earned a 66-51 road win over East Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
Allie Kubek led four Tigers in double-digit scoring with 17 points and seven rebounds. Anissa Rivera (14), Tarriyonna Gary (13) and Rayne Tucker (10) joined her in reaching 10+ points. Aleah Nelson hovered with eight points while adding seven assists.
Records
How it Happened
- The first quarter started off quietly as the two teams traded possessions early. Evans and Nelson combined for three points in the first 3:15 of play while holding the Pirates scoreless in the span.
- East Carolina would go on to hit all three of its next field goal attempts but Towson kept the team at bay, leading 7-6 at the halfway point of the quarter.
- The Tigers ended the period hitting five of their last 6 field goals. Tucker hit an impressive turnaround jumper to run the clock out and give the Tigers the 23-14 edge at the end of one.
- It was Kubek who led the team after the first quarter though, shooting 4-of-5 from the field to net 10 total points while adding three boards.
- Tucker picked up in the second quarter right where she left off, scoring just :9 seconds into action. After the bucket, both teams struggled to find the rim. At the 4:50 media timeout, the teams combined for just 1-of-12 from the field and were scoreless over the previous two plus minutes. Both teams would go on to hit four from the field before half to make the score 32-31 in the black & gold's favor.
- Gary come out hot in the third, getting two scores on consecutive possessions :45 seconds into the half. The sophomore scored all of her 10 points in the third.
- The defense also showed out, holding ECU scoreless until the 6:49 mark and forcing 11 turnovers. East Carolina went on their biggest run of the contest, scoring nine in a row through the middle of the quarter. The Tigers still prevailed with 20 points, holding the Pirates to just 10 points in the quarter.
- Rivera had her best period of the day in the fourth, netting six points and landing a block. The team ended with four consecutive buckets and with less than a minute to go, Towson took a 15-point lead, its biggest of the day, to seal the win.
Inside the Numbers
- The 7-1 start is the best since the 2008-09 campaign when the team also started off with the same record. That season, the Tigers earned five consecutive wins over Loyola (Maryland), Davidson, Radford, Duquesne and Bucknell before dropping a contest to UMBC. The team then went on to beat Navy and Richmond.
- Towson handed East Carolina its first loss at home of the season. The Pirates had previously won all four home games on their schedule.
- With seven assists, Nelson has now led the Tigers in the stat in all eight games.
- As four Tigers reached double-digit scoring against ECU, at least three players have cracked double figures in seven of eight games so far this season. Gary and Kubek have now also scored in double figures in seven of eight contests.
- Towson held East Carolina to 25.3 percent (19-of-75) from the field including 0-of-8 from beyond the arc. This marks the third time this season the team has held an opponent too less than 30 percent shooting in a game. The other two instances were against Millersville (19.1 percent, 9-of-47) and Howard (25.4 percent, 18-of-7).
Next Game
Towson will continue its time of the road with UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. From there, the Tigers will return back to Maryland and take the short trip to face American on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m.
