Lowell, Mass. — The Towson University women's basketball team will play its second consecutive road game against UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
The Tigers (7-1, 0-0) are currently on a four-game win streak while the River Hawks (3-4, 0-0) dropped their most recent contest.
The two program's only meeting came Nov. 11, 2016 when Towson came out on top, 90-56.
Hot Start
The Tigers have won their past four contests to improve to 7-1 on the season. The hot start is the best since the 2008-09 campaign when the team also began 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.
Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, Towson defeated East Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Allie Kubek led the team with a game-high 17 points while adding seven rebounds and two assists. Anissa Rivera (14), Tarriyonna Gary (13) and Raynee Tucker (10) also reached double figures. Aleah Nelson came close, netting eight points and collecting seven assists.
Kubek and Gary have now reached 10+ points in four consecutive games to bring them both to seven double figure scoring performances in eight contests.
The Tigers held the Pirates to 25.3 percent (19-of-75) from the field including 0-of-8 from beyond the arc. Saturday's game 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). The team is 6-0 this season when holding their opponent to shooting less than 34.5 percent from the field.
First Half Team
When leading at the half, the Tigers own a 7-0 record. The team has led by 20+ points at the half twice this season, against both Millersville (24) and Howard (23). Both games Towson scored over 40 points through the first two quarter.
Making Some Noise
Towson made its debut at No. 25 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll on Tuesday Nov. 30. The Tigers previously received votes in the poll in 2019 and reached the rank of No. 23 in 2012.
Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) foe Delaware sits at No. 16 in the poll while future 2021-22 opponent Princeton also ranks No. 8.
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
Eight games into its slate, Towson is top-30 in six NCAA statistical categories. The team remains strong off the glass, ranking 10th in rebounds per game (46.12) and 14th in offensive rebounds per game (16.5). The Tiger are also 15th in both scoring offense (81.1) and scoring margin (+22.0).
Nelson is also still competitive, currently sitting at ninth in the nation with 52 assists and seventh racking up an average 6.5 helpers per game. She leads the CAA in both categories. In addition, Kubek ranks 19th in the NCAA with a 60.2 field goal percentage and paces the conference.
Scouting The River Hawks
UMass Lowell is off to a 3-4 start on the season. Prior to losing their most recent contest to in-state rival UMass (58-53), the team had won two straight against Central Connecticut State (70-63) and Cornell (53-44). The River Hawks are 2-0 at home this season.
Jaliena Sanchez leads her team averaging 14.0 points per game. She has also amassed a team-best 13 assists and two steals. Denise Solis paces her team with 6.7 boards per contest as well as adding six assists, six blocks and four steals.
On the Road Again and Again and Again
Following the trip to UMass Lowell, the team will return to Maryland for a daytrip to American on Dec. 11 (2 p.m.).
The Tigers lone home game in the month of December will be on the 14th when they will welcome Memphis to SECU Arena for a 4 p.m. showdown. The Towson men's basketball team will also host UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. that same night to make for an exciting doubleheader.
The black & gold will finish out the final two weeks of the month on the road once again, traveling to Penn State on Dec. 22 (12 p.m.) and kicking off conference play against Drexel on Dec. 31 (2 p.m.).
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.
