BOSTON – Towson University women's basketball team grinded out a tough win over Northeastern on the road, 57-56, on Sunday afternoon. The victory marks the Tigers fifth in a row and second five-win stretch this season.  

Aleah Nelson led the charge for the Tigers with 18 points and five assists. She also made four three's and secured three steals. Anissa Rivera added 14 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Rayne Tucker grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  

Records   

• Towson – 22-5 (13-3 CAA)   
• Northeastern – 13-13 (7-9 CAA)   

How it Happened   

• Nelson started off hot with a pair of three's in the opening minutes to get Towson on the board. Northeastern stayed close though, tying the score 6-6 at 7:39.  
• The two teams traded the lead back and forth through the 4:04 media timeout. Just before the stop, however, Rivera hit one from deep to give the Tigers the five-point edge, 15-10.  
• Out of the timeout, the Black & Gold held the Huskies scoreless from the floor until 1:42. Both teams went the rest of the quarter without finding the basket. The Tigers ended the first in front, 16-14.  
• The teams continued to battle on defense in the second as Northeastern failed to get their first score of the period until the 7:07 mark. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas converted a layup early off a steal from Ryann Evans to make the score 18-16. 
• The Huskies followed up with points on five consecutive possessions to go on a 14-0 run and take the 23-19 edge. The run forced a Tigers timeout at the 3:48 mark.  
• Nelson ended the 5:09 drought for the team with a four-point play to cut the deficit, 28-22. The team kept the momentum going, hitting 3-of-3 from the floor to end the second quarter.  
• Going into the locker room, Towson trailed by just three points, 32-29. Nelson ended the opening half with a team-high 14 points, shooting 4-of-7 from deep. She also collected four assists and a pair of steals.  
• Towson tied the contest at 34-34 at 8:05 with another three-pointer from Rivera. The Tigers then went onto hold the Huskies scoreless through the 4:05 mark and in turn take the slight lead, 38-36. Northeastern came back with a vengeance though, hitting 3-of-3 from the field to knot the score back up, 38-38.  
• The Black & Gold hung tough and rallied to take the 42-41 advantage at the end of the third quarter.  
• Northeastern got an early bucket to begin the fourth quarter and regain the 43-42 lead. Kornegay-Lucas followed up with a layup, but the Huskies hit two from the line to knot the score up once again, 44-44. 
• Kubek hit a three under pressure just before the halfway point of the quarter to put her team up, 47-44. The Huskies answered with a pair of scores to take back the edge, 49-47. Northeastern added another out of the media stop to stay in front, 51-48. 
• Nelson turned her defense into offense, getting the steal and the bucket to put the contest within one point, 51-50, with just under two minutes to go. Evans followed up with an offensive board and layup to give Towson the 52-51 edge but the Huskies went right back down the court and scored to force a Tigers' timeout.  
• Out of the stop, Kornegay-Lucas drove to the basket for the score and gave the Black & Gold the advantage, 54-53. Northeastern called with a timeout with 38 seconds left.  
• The Tigers got the stop and called a timeout as the clock ran down to 24 seconds. Towson drew three consecutive fouls and Nelson hit both from the charity stripe to extend the Tigers' lead, 56-53. The team then got the stop at the opposite end and called a timeout with five seconds to go.
• Kornegay-Lucas was sent to the line and extended Towson's lead, 57-53. Northeastern hit a three at the buzzer but it wasn't enough as Towson came out with the 57-56 win.  

Inside the Numbers       

• With the victory over the Huskies, the Tigers tie the program record for most wins in a season. The team also reset the program best for most wins in the regular season with 22 victories.  
• Head coach Diane Richardson now has two 20-win seasons under her belt as she also reached 20 wins in the 2018-19 campaign. The 2021-22 slate is the third 20+ victory campaign in program history.  
• Sunday's win marks the second five-win stretch for the Tigers this season. Towson also won five in a row earlier this season from Nov. 23 to Dec. 11, defeating Millersville, Howard, Delaware State, East Carolina, UMass Lowell and American. The first run was a part of an eight-win streak for the Tigers.  
• The close contest featured 15 lead changes and eight ties. The fourth quarter alone boasted six lead changes and one tie.  
• The Tigers have now completed six season sweeps of Colonial Athletic Association (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), James Madison (Jan. 16 and Feb. 13), UNCW (Jan. 23 and Feb. 18), Hofstra (Jan. 30 and. Feb. 25) and now Northeastern (Jan. 28 and Feb. 27).   
• The team has held its opponents to less than 10 points in a quarter 15 times this season. The Tigers most recently held the Huskies to just nine points in the third quarter. 
• The Black & Gold have held 14 opponents to under 35.5 percent shooting in a game this season as Northeastern ended the contest shooting 35.3 percent (24-of-68).  
• At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 26 of 27 outings so far this season as two landed in double figures against the Huskes. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 25 of 27 contests, including the last 12 games. 

Next Game   
 
Towson will return home to finish out the regular season against Delaware on March 3 (7 p.m.) and Drexel on March 5 (2 p.m.).