ELON, N.C. — The Towson University women's basketball team (16-4, 7-2) will finish out its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) road trip against Elon (10-8, 2-6) on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Schar Center.
The two teams last met on Jan. 7, as the Tigers came out with the 66-54 win. Anissa River scored a season-high 23 points to lead Towson in the victory. Allie Kubek also dropped a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in the outing and Aleah Nelson added 12 points.
Elon leads the all-time series between the two programs, 9-4. The Phoenix will be celebrating their Play4Kay game on Sunday.
Last Time Out
Towson earned its second win of the season against William & Mary, 76-60, to earn its first CAA sweep over of the season and fourth win in a row.
Rayne Tucker went off to score a season-high 20 points. She also added six rebounds and two blocks. Aleah Nelson followed with 15 points, including three from deep. Tarriyonna Gary secured her ninth double digit scoring performance with 11 points in addition to two steals.
In The CAA
Drexel remains in first place in the league with an unblemished 9-0 mark. Delaware sits in second place with an 8-1 record followed by Towson (7-2). Northeastern (6-3) and James Madison (6-3) round out the top five.
Charleston (3-6), Elon (2-6), William & Mary (1-7), Hofstra (1-7) and UNCW (0-8) 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 six 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 (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).
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
Last weekend with wins over Northeastern and Hofstra, the black & gold earned their 15th win 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.
With the most recent win over William & Mary, the Tigers have now eclipsed the first 16-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) 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 391 total points this season off turnovers, for 19.6 points per game. When the team registers more steals than their opponent, they are an undefeated 12-0.
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 2.95 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 23rd nationally and first in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.38).
When the Tigers have fewer turnovers than their opposition they are 14-0.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 19 of 20 outings so far this season. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 18 of 20 contests including the last six 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 (45.60), sixth in offensive boards per game (16.4) and 19th in defensive rebounds per game (35.3).
The team is also killing it on offense, ranked 16th scoring margin (15.8) and 17th 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 eight outings. The team has also reached 50+ rebounds on four occasions.
Towson has either won the fight off the glass or tied in 15 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 Phoenix
Elon is on a three-game losing streak, falling to Drexel (72-60), Delaware (87-65) and most recently James Madison (71-56). The Phoenix have only defeated CAA foes Charleston (65-60) and Hofstra (68-52) for their two wins in conference.
Brie Perpignan leads Elon, averaging 17.0 points per game in addition to a team-best 99 assists. Kayla Lilies paces the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest and 42 steals.
Next Up
The Tigers will return to SECU Arena for a midweek matchup against Delaware on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 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.
