TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's basketball team (17-4, 8-2) will welcome Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Delaware (15-5, 9-1) to SECU Arena for a 7 p.m. midweek contest on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
The Blue Hens have won the last two meetings, both at the Bob Carpenter Center last season. Delaware owns the 58-24 all-time edge between the two teams.
Last Time Out
The Tigers came back to defeat Elon on the road, 67-52, Sunday afternoon. With the win, the black & gold completed their second CAA sweep as they defeated the Phoenix earlier in the year, 67-54 (Jan. 7).
The Tigers outscored the Phoenix 25-7 in the fourth quarter to push them over the edge for the win. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas led the charge with 13 fourth quarter points to end the day with a season-high 20 points. She also secured seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
Anissa Rivera earned her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Aleah Nelson (12), Rayne Tucker (10) and Tarriyonna Gary (10) also scored in double figures.
In The CAA
Drexel's 14-game win streak was snapped by Charleston over the weekend, putting an end to its perfect conference record. The Dragons are now tied with Delaware for first place as they both have 9-1 marks in conference play.
Towson follows closely behind in third (8-2) 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).
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 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 over the weekend 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 413 total points this season off turnovers, for 19.7 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 2.62 turnover margin. The team is also third in assist/turnover ratio (0.92).
Floor general Aleah Nelson has also been careful with the rock, as she ranks 19th nationally and first in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.42).
When the Tigers have fewer turnovers than their opposition they are 14-0.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 20 of 21 outings so far this season. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 19 of 21 contests including the last seven 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 four games over 20 points apiece.
When Towson lands four or more players in double-digits, they are 11-0.
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. 77. Drexel comes in at No. 92 followed by Delaware at No. 103.
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 10th in total rebounds (956), fifth in rebounds per game (45.52), sixth in offensive boards per game (16.6) and 28th in defensive rebounds per game (29.0).
The team is also killing it on offense, ranked 15th scoring margin (15.8) and 21st in scoring offense (76.2).
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 nine 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.
Three Tigers are currently averaging over six boards per game in Anissa Rivera (7.0), Allie Kubek (6.0) and Rayne Tucker (6.0).
Scouting The Blue Hens
Delaware, like Towson, is on a five-game winning streak, most recently defeating UNCW, 77-62. In the game prior against Charleston, Jasmine Dickey dropped 52 points to register the second-highest game total in the NCAA this season. The Blue Hens defeated the Cougars, 103-79.
Dickey paces her team and ranks second in the country, averaging 25.4 points. She also tops the team with 21 total blacks and 9.5 boards per game. Ty Battle leads the Blue Hens off the glass with 10.9 rebounds per game while also grabbing 32 steals.
Next Up
Towson will get back on the road to meet James Madison on Feb. 13 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.
