HARRISONBURG, Va. — The Towson University women's basketball team will make the trip down to Harrisonburg, Virginia to face James Madison on Feb. 13 for a 2 p.m. Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup.
The two teams last met on Jan. 6 when the Tigers (17-5, 8-3) emerged with the 79-70 decision. Towson has won the last two meetings between the teams but James Madison (11-10, 6-4) still owns the all-time edge, 46-8. The Dukes have won the last two contests played in Harrisonburg on both Jan. 3, 2021 (89-85) and Jan. 9, 2020 (81-39).
Last Time Out
Towson dropped a heartbreaking decision to Delaware in the final moments of action on Feb. 9, 81-78. The contest featured 14 lead changes, including seven in the fourth quarter, and nine ties.
With 25 seconds to go, the Tiger took the 76-75 lead, but a field goal and four free throws in the final 16 seconds gave the Blue Hens the conference win.
Despite the result, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas recorded 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for her first triple-double
Aleah Nelson scored a team-high 24 points, all in the second half, as she shot 6-of-11 from deep to match her career high for three-pointers made in a game. Allie Kubek added 20 points. Ryann Evans grabbed 10 boards.
Kornegay-Lucas Makes History
Kylie Kornegay Lucas' triple-double marks the first at Towson since 1993, when Tanya Belair did it against Wintrop (17p, 10r, 10s). Chris Pulaski did it when the team was Division II, amassing 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks. It is also the first in the CAA since 2018 when Shay Burnett of Elon brought in 13 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.
In The CAA
After Wednesday's game, Delaware is now in first place 10-1 mark in conference play. Drexel moved to second place with a 9-1 record. Towson follows closely behind in third (8-3) while James Madison (7-3) and Northeastern (6-4) round out the top five.
Charleston (4-6), Elon (2-7), Hofstra (2-7), William & Mary (1-8) and UNCW (0-9) complete the standings.
Tigers Dominate CAA Player of the Night
The Tigers have been dominating the voting in CAA Player of the Night honors. The poll is decided by the fans and run from the CAA Basketball Twitter account (@CAABasketball).
The team has won five of the seven instances that a Tiger has been nominated, more than any other team in the conference. Aleah Nelson was the most recently awarded the honor after her 24-point, seven-rebound and seven-assist performance against Northeastern (Jan. 28).
Ryann Evans secured the win after her first career double-double (14p, 11r) at UNCW (Jan. 23). Anissa Rivera (23p, 9r, 3s) won the honor after the black & gold defeated Elon (Jan. 7), and Nelson (25p, 5a, 3s) followed as the team defeated WIlliam & Mary, (Jan. 9). Allie Kubek (28p, 8r, 2s) also gave the Tigers a win in the poll after a victory over JMU, (Jan. 16).
Sweepin' Up
The Tigers have completed two sweep of CAA opponents so far this season. The Black & Gold have earned two wins over both William & Mary (Jan. 9 and Feb. 4) and Elon (Ja. 7 and Feb. 6).
Fastest to 15
With their win over Hofstra (Jan. 30), the black & gold earned their 15th victory to make them the fastest Towson team in the NCAA era to reach 15 wins.
The Tiger reached win #15 on Jan. 30, while the 2007-08 team had reached 15 wins on Jan. 31, a day later.
With a pair of wins against William & Mary and Elon, Towson has now eclipsed the first 17-win season since 2018-19 (20-13) and just the second since 2011-12 (16-14).
D-FENSE!
The black & gold have held nine opponents to under 35.5 percent shooting in a game this season. Towson kept Frostburg State (32.8 percent, 19-of-58), Florida (35.2 percent, 25-of-71), Wofford (30.2 percent, 19-of-63), Millersville (19.1 percent, 9-of-47), Howard (25.4 percent, 18-of-71), Delaware State (32.7 percent, 18-of-55), East Carolina (25.3 percent, 19-of-75), UMass Lowell (29.3 percent, 17-of-58), UNCW (32.2 percent, 19-of-59), Hofstra (26.7 percent, 16-of-60) and Elon (33.9 percent, 21-of-62) all below the mark. When Towson holds its opponent below 34.9 percent shooting, they are 10-0.
The team has also held its opponents to less than 10 points in a quarter 11 times this season. The Tigers most recently held Elon to seven points in the final quarter of action.
The black & gold have registered eight double-digit steal games, led by a season-high 18 takeaway performance against Millersville. Nelson leads the squad with 27 total steals.
Towson has generated 426 total points this season off turnovers, for 19.4 points per game. When the team registers more steals than their opponent, they are an undefeated 13-0.
Taking Care of the Ball
Towson has done an exceptional job of taking care of the ball this season, ranking fourth in the league with a 2.32 turnover margin. The team is also third in assist/turnover ratio (0.94).
Floor general Aleah Nelson has also been careful with the rock, as she ranks 16th nationally and first in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.46).
When the Tigers have fewer turnovers than their opposition they are 14-0.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 21 of 22 outings so far this season. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 20 of 22 contests including the last eight outings.
Five Tigers have also registered +20 point performances in Nelson, Allie Kubek, Anissa Rivera, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas and Rayne Tucker. Nelson and Kubek pace the squad with five games over 20 points apiece.
Wednesday's game against Delaware marks the third time this season two players have scored +20 points in a game, as the team also eclipsed the feat against James Madison (Kubek-28/Rivera-20), Northeastern (Nelson-24/Kubek-22) and Delaware (Nelson-24, Kubek-20). Kubek has been involved in all three instances.
When Towson lands four or more players in double-digits, they are 11-0.
Making Some Noise
Towson stayed at No. 22 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released Feb. 8. The team has now been at No. 22 for two weeks.
BYU (18-2) remains in the top spot while FGCU (21-1), Princeton (16-4), Missouri State (15-5) and Stephen F. Austin (19-3) complete the top five.
Drexel (17-3, 9-1) leads the CAA in the poll as they are slotted at No. 14. Delaware (16-5, 10-1) sits right above Towson at No. 21 for the second week in a row.
The black & gold are still highest ranked CAA team in the NCAA NET rankings, sitting at No. 81. Drexel comes in at No. 90 followed by Delaware at No. 102.
Coming Home
Five of 14 student-athletes on Towson's roster represent their home state of Maryland. Aleah Nelson is the lone Baltimore native while Allie Kubek (Elkton), Ryann Evans (Columbia), Rayne Tucker (New Carrollton) and Anissa Rivera (Capitol Heights) are also from close by.
In The Rankings
The Tigers continue to be among the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking 12th in total rebounds as they 1,001 total boards. The team is also sixth in rebounds per game (45.50), sixth in offensive boards per game (16.4) and 26th in defensive rebounds per game (29.1).
The team is also killing it on offense, ranked 18st in scoring offense (76.3) and 20th n scoring margin (14.9).
The Tigers sit top 40 in the nation in 11 statistical categories.
Crashing The Boards
As one of the top-10 rebounding teams in the country, the black & gold have grabbed 40+ boards in all but two contests so far this season, including the last 10 outings. The team has also reached 50+ rebounds on four occasions.
Towson has either won the fight off the glass or tied in 16 games.
Both Anissa Rivera (6.9) and Allie Kubek (6.0) are currently averaging over six boards per game.
Scouting The Dukes
James Madison has won five of its last six outings, most recently defeating Elon (71-56) and William & Mary (64-58) on the road. The team's most recent loss came against Northeastern on Jan. 30 (62-50).
Kikki Jefferson leads the Dukes with 19.1 points and 1.9 assists per game. Jaylin Carodine paces the team off the boards averaging 10.6 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Towson will return home to host UNCW on Feb. 18 (7 p.m.) and Charleston on Feb. 20 (2 p.m.).
The Tigers will celebrate their Play4Kay game against the Seahawks and their Autism Awareness game against the Cougars.
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.
