TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's basketball team will return to SECU Arena to host UNCW on Feb. 18 for a 7 p.m. Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup.
The Tigers (18-5, 9-3) came out with the 72-49 win the last time they met UNCW (3-19, 0-12) on Jan. 23. The Black & Gold have won the prior three home contests against the Seahawks dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Play4Kay/Alumni Game
Friday night the Black & Gold will celebrate their annual PlayKay game in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The fund's mission is to extend and improve the lives of those who are battling cancer, on our way to finding a cure, by raising money for research and providing life-saving access to healthcare for underserved women.
Until the end of February teams are securing pledges, earning donations for every free throw made during game played in the month of February. To make a pledge in support of Towson in the Free Throw Challenge please click here: https://pledgeit.org/towson-play4kay-2022
The Tigers will also celebrate their Alumni Game, welcoming back past graduates back to SECU Arena for the night.
Last Time Out
The Tigers got the 20-point win over James Madison on the road on Feb. 13, 87-67, to complete their third season sweep of the season.
Kylie Kornegay-Lucas recorded her first double-double in the Black & Gold with 20 points and 10 rebounds. She came close to registering her second consecutive triple-double as she also earned a team best eight assists.
Anissa Rivera paced the team with 21 total points for her fourth +20-point performance of the season. Allie Kubek (18) and Aleah Nelson (15) also reached double digits.
Towson beat James Madison off the boards as well, 41-25. In addition to Kornegay-Lucas' 10 rebounds, Tarriyonna Gary also brought in seven off the glass.
Kornegay-Lucas Makes History
Kylie Kornegay Lucas' triple-double marks the first at Towson since 1993, when Tanya Belair did it against Winthrop (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
Delaware and Drexel are tied for first place in the CAA withs 12-1 records. Towson follows closely behind in third (9-3) while James Madison (7-5) and Northeastern (6-6) round out the top five.
Charleston (5-6), Elon (4-7), William & Mary (3-9), Hofstra (2-9) and UNCW (0-12) complete the standings.
Sweepin' Up
The Tigers have completed three season sweeps of CAA opponents so far this season. The Black & Gold have earned two wins over William & Mary (Jan. 9 and Feb. 4), Elon (Jan. 7 and Feb. 6) and James Madison (Jan. 16 and Feb. 13).
18 & Counting
With an 18-5 record, Towson is searching for its 20th win of the 2021-22 season. With two more wins, the Tigers would eclipse their third 20-win season in program history.
This would be head coach Diane Richardson's second 20-win season since coming to Tiger Town as she also reached 20 wins in the 2018-19 campaign. That team reached their 20th win on March 9. The 2007-08 team reached 22 total wins and got win #20 on March 6.
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.
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 nine double-digit steal games, led by a season-high 18 takeaway performance against Millersville. Nelson leads the squad with 28 total steals.
Towson has generated 447 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 14-0.
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 2.48 turnover margin. The team is also third in assist/turnover ratio (0.96).
Floor general Aleah Nelson has also been careful with the rock, as she ranks 12th nationally and first in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.52).
When the Tigers have fewer turnovers than their opposition they are 15-0.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 22 of 23 outings so far this season. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 21 of 23 contests including the last nine 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.
Towson has had two players score 20 or more points four times this season:
- James Madison - Jan. 16 (Kubek-28, Rivera-20
- Northeastern - Jan. 28 (Nelson-24, Kubek-22)
- Delaware - Feb. 9 (Nelson-24, Kubek-20)
- James Madison - Feb. 13 (Rivera-21, Kornegay-Lucas-20)
When Towson lands four or more players in double-digits, they are 12-0.
Making Some Noise
Towson stayed at No. 22 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released Feb. 8. The team was previously at No. 22 for two weeks.
BYU (20-2) remains in the top spot while Princeton (17-4), FGCU (22-2), Missouri State (17-5) and Stephen F. Austin (20-3) complete the top five.
Drexel (19-3, 11-1) leads the CAA in the poll as they are slotted at No. 13. Delaware (18-5, 12-1) sits slightly above Towson at No. 20.
The black & gold are still highest ranked CAA team in the NCAA NET rankings, sitting at No. 76. Drexel comes in at No. 84 followed by Delaware at No. 100.
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 1,042 total boards. The team is also seventh in rebounds per game (45.30), sixth in offensive boards per game (16.3) and 26th in defensive rebounds per game (29.0).
The team is also killing it on offense, ranked 15th in scoring offense (76.8) and 17th in scoring margin (15.1).
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 11 outings. The team has also reached 50+ rebounds on four occasions.
Towson has either won the fight off the glass or tied in 17 games.
Both Anissa Rivera (6.8) and Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (6.1) are currently averaging over six boards per game.
Scouting The Seahawks
UNCW has dropped 12 consecutive contests, all in conference play. The team most recently dropped a pair of decisions to William & Mary. They fell by just two points on Feb. 13 (65-63) before suffering another loss on Feb. 16, 69-59.
Sierra DaCosta paces the team averaging 13.9 points per game. Micah Hoggatt leads the Seahawks off the glass, averaging 6.0 rebounds and totaling eight blocks. Allie Best also plays a pivotal role in the offense, averaging 2.0 assist per outing and a team-best 29 steals.
After leading the program for five seasons, Karen Barefoot was relieved of her duties as head coach on Monday. Longtime Delaware head coach Tina Martin will serve as the Interim head coach through the end of the season.
Next Up
Towson will host Charleston on Feb. 20 for a 2 p.m. contest. The Tigers will celebrate 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.
