WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The Towson University women's basketball team (15-4, 6-2) will travel to Virginia to face William & Mary (6-12, 1-6) on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. for the first leg of its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) road trip.
The two teams last met on Jan. 9 when the Tigers handed the Tribe a 91-55 loss. Aleah Nelson led a pack of five Tigers in double figures as she netted 25 points in addition to five assists and three steals. Rayne Tucker also dropped her first double-double in black & gold with 15 points and 11 boards.
William & Mary still leads the all-time series 21-15.
Last Time Out
Towson defeated Hofstra on Sunday, Jan. 30, 86-45 to earn its ninth win in SECU Arena this season and remain unbeaten at home.
Aleah Nelson led the way for the Tigers with 19 points and five assists. She also shot 4-for-8 from deep. Anissa Rivera earned her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Skye Williams and Allie Kubek chipped in 10 points apiece.
Towson dominated on the defensive end as well, earning 58 total rebounds to the Pride's 30 boards.
In The CAA
Drexel is in first place in the league with an unblemished 8-0 mark. Delaware sits in second place with a 7-1 record followed by Towson (6-2). Northeastern (6-3) and James Madison (5-3) round out the top five.
Charleston (3-5), Elon (2-5), William & Mary (1-6), Hofstra (1-7) and UNCW (0-7) 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).
In all five instances that a Tiger has been nominated, they have won. Aleah Nelson was the most recently awarded the honor after her 24-point, seven-rebound and seven-assist performance against Northeastern.
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).
Home Sweet Home
Towson is a perfect 9-0 while playing in SECU Arena.
The team has reached over 70 points eight times and over 90 points on four occasions while at home.
Fastest to 15
With the pair of victories over the weekend, the black & gold are now 15-4 overall and 9-0 in the CAA to make them the fastest Towson team in the NCAA era to reach 15 wins.
The Tiger reached win #15 on Jan. 30 against Hofstra. 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) and Hofstra (26.7 percent, 16-of-60) all below the mark. When Towson holds its opponent below 34.9 percent shooting, they are 9-0.
The team has also held its opponents to less than 10 points in a quarter 10 times this season. The Tigers most recently held Hofstra to a season-low three points in the second quarter of action.
The black & gold have registered seven 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 367 total points this season off turnovers, for 19.3 points per game. When the team registers more steals than their opponent, they are an undefeated 11-0.
Taking Care of the Ball
Towson has done a good job of taking care of the ball this season, ranking fourth in the league with a 2.63 turnover margin. The team is also third in assist/turnover ratio (0.93).
Floor general Aleah Nelson has also been careful with the rock, as she ranks 27th nationally and first in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.36).
When the Tigers have fewer turnovers than their opposition they are 13-0.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 18 of 19 outings so far this season. Nelson and Kubek have now scored 10+ points in 17 of 19 contests including the last three outings.
When Towson lands four or more players in double-digits, they are 10-0.
Making Some Noise
Towson moved up to No. 22 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released Feb. 1. The team was previously ranked No. 24.
BYU (17-1) remains in the top spot while FGCU (19-1), Missouri State (14-4), Gonzaga (16-4) and South Dakota (17-4) complete the top five.
Drexel (16-2, 8-0) leads the CAA in the poll as they are slotted at No. 13. Delaware (13-5, 7-1) also sits right above Towson at No. 21.
The black & gold are still highest ranked CAA team in the NCAA NET rankings, sitting at No. 80.
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 sixth in rebounds per game (45.37), seventh in offensive boards per game (16.4) and 26th in defensive rebounds per game (29.0).
The team is also killing it on offense, ranked 16th scoring margin (15.8) and nd 19th in scoring offense (76.7).
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 seven outings. The team has also reached 50+ rebounds on four occasions including their last contest against Hofstra when they brought in 58 boards, their second largest total this season.
Towson has either won the fight off the glass or tied in 14 games.
Three Tigers are currently averaging over six boards per game in Anissa Rivera (6.8), Allie Kubek (6.4) and Rayne Tucker (6.1).
Scouting The Tribe
William & Mary has fell in six of its last seven outings. The Tribe's only win in the month of January and in the CAA came against Hofstra on Jan. 21, 56-48. In W&M's most recent outing, they took first-place Drexel to double overtime, but couldn't pull out the win. The fell 75-67 to drop its third consecutive game.
Casey Riley paces the Tribe offense, averaging 14.3 points per game. Sydney Wagner also plays a key role as she leads her squad in both assists (54) and steals (35). Bre Bellamy and Kate Sramac lead the team off the glass, averaging 5.5 rebounds each.
Next Up
The Tigers will head to North Carolina to take on Elon, Feb. 6 at 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.
Follow the team on Twitter (@Towson_WBB) and Instagram (@towsonwomensbball) for updates!
