TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's basketball team will host Old Dominion in the first round of the WNIT on Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. The contest will be streamed on YouTube.
The Monarchs own the 19-1 all-time edge over the Tigers. The two teams last meeting was Jan. 10, 2013 when Old Dominion came out with the 65-55 win. The Black & Gold's only win came March 3, 2010 in overtime, 64-56. The two teams have never met in SECU Arena, as all the Tigers home games prior to the 2013-14 season were played in the Towson Center.
Records
- Towson — 23-6 (14-4)
- Old Dominion — 23-9 (12-6)
WNIT Schedule
Round 1 - March 16-18
Round 2 - March 19-22
Round 3 - March 23-26
Quarterfinals - March 26-28
Semifinals - March 30-31
Championship - Saturday, April 2 (broadcast by CBS Sports Network)
Last Time Out
Towson fell to Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament Semifinals Saturday night, 56-55.
The contest came down to the final seconds of play as Tarriyonna Gary hit a shot from deep with just six seconds to go but the Blue Hens answered with two free throws at the buzzer to win, 56-55.
Allie Kubek secured her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas had another well-rounded performance recording 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Gary matched Kornegay-Lucas with 15 points to pace the team.
Kornegay Lucas Earns CAA All-Tournament Team Nod
Through the quarterfinals and semifinals of the CAA Tournament, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas averaged 13 points, 6.5 rebounds and four steals. The redshirt sophomore reached double-digits in both games with 11 and 15 points, respectively.
CAA Postseason Honors
Just before the start of the 2022 CAA Women's Basketball Championship, three members of the Towson University women's basketball team have earned All-CAA honors.
Aleah Nelson was selected First Team All-CAA while Allie Kubek was picked to the All-CAA Third Team. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas was selected as the Sixth Player of the Year.
Tigers In The Postseason
Towson has reached the postseason three times in the past 15 years. The team made their first-ever trip in the NCAA Tournament in 2019. They also advanced to the WBI in 2010.
This will be Towson second trip to the Postseason WNIT, he team secured their first berth in 1969.
Back to the WNIT
The 2021-22 season has come full circle for Towson as they will start and end their campaign in WNIT Tournaments. The team began the slate with the Preseason WNIT Classic from Nov. 12-15. The Tigers went 2-1 in the tournament, earning wins over Florida (87-70) and Wofford (64-48) before falling to then-No. 2 NC State (100-52).
In the win over the Gators, Nelson scored a career-high 39 points to set a new building record at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum. The record was previously held by Wolfpack-great Andrea Stinson, who set it 30 years ago against North Carolina (2/12/91). The junior point guard also added eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
Nelson and Allie Kubek were both named to the All-Tournament team.
24 & Counting
With Towson's most recent win over Northeastern (March 11), the team reset the program record for most wins in a regular season with 24 victories. The previous high of 22 was set during the 2007-08 campaign.
Since arriving in Towson in 2017, head coach Diane Richardson has now garnered two 20-win seasons, as she led the 2018-19 squad to a 20-13 overall mark.
As the Towson men's team currently sits with a 25-8 overall record, it marks the first time in Towson's history both the men's and women's teams have reached 20+ wins in the same season.
Breaking Records
With six helpers against Drexel in the team's final game of the regular slate, Nelson broke the single season assist record with 156 total dimes. The previous high of 151 was set by Q. Murray during the 2019-2020 season.
Home Sweet Home
The Tigers ended the regular season with an 11-2 record in SECU Arena. The only losses have both come at the hands of Delaware (Feb. 9 and March 3). The team has reached over 70 points seven times and over 90 points on four occasions while at home.
Women's basketball is not the only team to find success while playing at SECU Arena this academic year, however, as men's basketball (12-2), gymnastics (12-2) and volleyball (17-1) have also dominated in front of a home crowd. All four teams are a combined 53-7 in SECU dating back to the beginning of the fall slate.
Coming Off The Bench
The Tigers have had a huge late season push off the bench, scoring double-digit points in the last 16 contests. Towson has recorded +30 points seven times this slate. The team posted a season-high 49 points off the bench against James Madison (Feb. 13), led by Anissa Rivera with a game-high 21 points and Kylie Kornegay-Lucas who added 20.
Towson has scored 628 total points off the bench this slate for 20.1 points per game.
Sweepin' Up
The Tigers have completed six season sweeps of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents 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. 26) and Northeastern (Jan. 28 and Feb. 27).
Kornegay-Lucas Makes History
Kylie Kornegay Lucas' recorded a historic triple-double against Delaware (Feb. 9) with 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. The feat 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.
D-FENSE!
The Black & Gold have held 14 opponents to under 35.5 percent shooting 16 times 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), Elon (33.9 percent, 21-of-62). Charleston (27.8 percent, 22-of-79) and Drexel (33.3 percent, 21-of-63) all below the mark. They held Hofstra under 33 percent shooting both times they met this season (26.7 percent, 16-of-60/32.8 percent, 21-of-64). The team also held Northeastern below the mark twice (35.3 percent, 24-of-68/28.3 percent, 17-of-60) When Towson holds its opponent below 34.9 percent shooting, they are 14-0.
The team has also held its opponents to less than 10 points in a quarter 17 times this season. The Tigers most recently held Delaware to eight points in the second quarter of the conference tournament Semifinals on March 12.
The black & gold have registered nine double-digit steal games, led by a season-high 18 takeaway performance against Millersville. Aleah Nelson leads the squad with 36 total steals.
Towson has generated 581 total points this season off turnovers, for 18.7 points per game. When the team registers more steals than their opponent, they are 17-1.
Prolific Scoring
At least two Tigers have cracked double figures in 30 of 31 outings so far this season. Nelson has now scored 10+ points in 29 of 31 contests including the last 16 outings.
Six Tigers have also registered +20 point performances in Nelson, Allie Kubek, Anissa Rivera, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, Rayne Tucker and Tarriyonna Gary. 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)
Making Some Noise
Towson ended the regular season at No. 18 in the last CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released March 8. The team was previously ranked No. 16.
BYU (24-2) ended on top while Princeton (22-4), FGCU (27-2), South Dakota (23-5) and South Dakota State (25-9) complete the top five.
Drexel (24-4, 16-2) ended slotted at No. 12. Delaware (21-7, 15-3) sits at No. 21.
The Black & Gold are still highest ranked CAA team in the NCAA NET rankings, sitting at No. 78. Drexel comes in at No. 84 followed by Delaware at No. 92.
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.
Crashing The Boards
As one of the top-10 rebounding teams in the country, the black & gold have grabbed 40+ boards in all but four contests so far this season, including the last 16 of 19 outings. The team has also reached 50+ rebounds on five occasions.
Towson has either won the fight off the glass or tied in 21 games.
Anissa Rivera currently leads the team, averaging 7.2 boards per contest.
Scouting The Monarchs
Old Dominion has had a solid season with a 23-9 overall record and a 12-6 mark in Conference USA play. The team earned key wins over Auburn, 57-44 (Nov. 12) and Texas Tech, 59-45 (Nov. 27). They went on a nine-game winning streak, their longest of the season, from Nov. 26 to Jan. 13. The Monarch's time in the conference tournament ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to North Texas, 65-58.
Iggy Allen paces the team with 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She earned her second All-Conference USA First Team nod along with teammate Ajah Wayne.
Next Up
The winner of Towson vs. Old Dominion will play Columbia (23-6, 12-2) in the second round of the WNIT. They defeated Holy Cross in the first round of the tournament on March 16, 80-69.
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.
