When: Monday, December 4, 2023
Where: Liberty Arena | Lynchburg, Va.
Time: Monday - 7 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (4-1) vs. Liberty (3-5)
Stream: ESPN+
Series: Towson Leads 5-4
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's basketball team travels down to Lynchburg to play Liberty on Monday night. This will be the first meeting since 1995 when both teams were a part of the Big South Conference.
 
Starting the Season Off Right
The Tigers are off to a 4-1 start in the new season. Towson has finished with 70 or more points in three of the five games while shooting 40.6% from the field. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas leads the team in points (16.5), rebounds (8.0), assists (4.2) and steals (2.4). Patricia Anumgba is averaging 13 points per game while shooting 46% from the floor while Quinzia Fulmore and Alexia Nelson are both averaging 10.2 points per game.
 
Towson, Morgan, UMBC Create Charm City Hoops Classic
Towson, Morgan State and UMBC have agreed to play each other every year in both men's and women's basketball in what is being billed as the Charm City Hoops Classic. The three schools participated in the Battle of Baltimore series for six seasons from 1997-98 through 2002-03.
 
Schedule:
Monday, Nov. 6 – UMBC at Towson W, 76-72
Wednesday, Nov. 29 – Morgan at Towson W, 80-69
Saturday, Dec. 9 – UMBC at Morgan (2 PM)
 
Getting Down to Business
Redshirt senior guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas was named the CAA Player of the Week. Kornegay-Lucas led the Tigers to two wins at the Navy Classic and picked up MVP honors after averaging 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game. She had a team-high 15 points with nine rebounds while adding season-highs with six assists and five steals against Abilene Christian. The Camden, Delaware native followed up with a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds against Quinnipiac.
 
Preseason POY
Kylie Kornegay-Lucas was named as the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason of the Year and earned All-CAA First Team honors. Kornegay-Lucas was the 2022-23 CAA Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in steals (79) and ranking 26th in the nation. The redshirt senior guard averaged a team-high 14.1 points on 39.7% shooting and 32.9% 3pt shooting, while averaging 7.3 rebounds. The Camden, Del. native led the Tigers in assists and blocks with 132 assists and 27 blocks. She finished with the second highest free throw percentage in program history at 84.2%.
 
Atop the Chart
The CAA announced its annual Preseason Poll to start the season. The Tigers were picked to finish in first place after receiving nine first-place votes. Stony Brook was picked to finish in second with Northeastern in third place. 
 
Running It Back
The Tigers return four of their five starters from last year. Towson brings back 73.8% of the last year's scoring, including the top three scorers. The Tigers return 76.7% of the rebounds, including two of the top seven rebounders last year in the CAA. The Black & Gold had nobody leave due to the transfer portal.
 
Receiving Votes
The Tigers are now No. 22 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Preseason Poll. Last week Towson was ranked as No. 23. The Tigers picked No. 23 last week and No. 19 in the preseason poll. Towson reached as high as No. 15 that same season. The Tigers are joined by Stony Brook at the No.20 spot.
 
TU Fortress
The Tigers hold an 84-58 (.592) home record since TU Arena was built, including a 34-17 (.667) record against non-conference opponents. Towson holds a 50-41 (.549) against CAA foes. The Tigers finished with an 8-1 home record in conference play last year. Towson had won its last ten games in TU, tying a program record before losing to Monmouth in the championship.
 
Fresh Faces
Towson welcomes six newcomers this season: Semaya Turner (Saint Francis U), Kayla Morris (CSU Bakersfield), Anaiah Jenkins, Caydence Hadley, Aminata Diakite (Salt Lake CC) and Anasia Staton (CCBC Essex).
 
Last Season Recap
The Tigers had a phenomenal season last year, finishing with a 21-12 record and a 13-5 CAA record that earned Towson a share of the regular season title. In non-conference play the Tigers picked up a win over DePaul at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. In CAA play, the Tigers had the second-best defense holding opponents to 60.5 points per game. Towson won six of its final seven games to earn the No.1 seed in the CAA Tournament after holding tiebreakers over Drexel and Northeastern. The Tigers advanced past Hampton and William & Mary in the quarter and semifinals. Towson fell against Monmouth in the championship, which sent the Tigers to Cambridge for a first-round matchup against Harvard in the WNIT First Round.
 
Stepping Into the Spotlight
Quinzia Fulmore thrived after stepping into the starting lineup last season. She started in 31 of the 33 games last season, including all four postseason games. The junior forward from Greensboro, North Carolina averaged 10.3 points per game to rank second on the team. Fulmore finished with a field goal percentage of 52.7% in 33 games. She pulled down 7.3 rebounds a game to rank fifth in the CAA and tied for first for the Tigers. Fulmore had registered eight double-doubles to rank second in the conference.
 
The Climb to the 1,000 Club
Redshirt senior guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas is nearing 1,000 career points in career and Towson. The Camden, Delaware native has accumulated 876 points during her collegiate career. Kornegay-Lucas has totaled 656 points at Towson, including 466 last season.
 
Scouting Liberty
The Lady Flames have a 3-5 record to start the season. Liberty holds a 44-3 record all-time at Liberty Arena, including winning its last 16 games. The Lady Flames are led by Emma Hess and Bella Smude, who both average over 12 points and four rebounds per game. Liberty opened the season with a 68-46 win over Frostburg State, then followed up with an 84-81 overtime victory against Stephen F. Austin. The Lady Flames lost the following five games, two of which included top 15 teams and a 56-47 loss to North Carolina A&T. Liberty most recently played James Madison and was victorious 67-53.
 
Last Time Out  
The Black & Gold hosted Morgan State in the Charm City Hoops Classic. The Tigers jumped out to a 14-2 lead to start the first quarter holding the Lady Bears scoreless for the first six minutes. The Tigers maintained a 12-point lead heading into the second quarter. Towson grew the lead to 45-25 behind a 25-point second quarter led by Kylie Kornegay-Lucas's 13 points. The Tigers expended the lead to 29 points midway through the third quarter. Towson took a 23-point advantage into the fourth. Morgan State tried to spark a comeback, but the lead was too much as the Tigers won 80-69.
 
Next Up
The Tigers host George Washington on Wednesday, Dec. 6th for STEM Day at 11 a.m. The game will be aired on Monumental and FloHoops.