When: Sunday, January 7, 2024
Where: Corbett Sports Center | Greensboro, N.C.
Time: Sunday - 2 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (8-3, 1-0 CAA) vs. N.C. A&T (6-6, 0-1 CAA)
Stream: FloHoops
Series: Towson Leads 2-0                                                     
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's basketball team takes on North Carolina A&T in a Sunday afternoon matchup to wrap up the first week of CAA action. 

Non-Con Recap
The Tigers finished with a 7-3 record 2023-24 season. Towson split their first two games of the season. before winning six straight, including an overtime thriller against Liberty. The Tigers fell in its last two games to close put non-conference. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas led the team in points (13.5), rebounds (8.7), assists (4.3), steals (2.4) and blocks (0.6). Patricia Anumgba averaged 13.3 points per game while adding 2.1 steals. Quinzia Fulmore averaged 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. 

Shooting the Lights Out
India Johnston was named the CAA Player of the Week. Johnston led the Tigers to a perfect 3-0 week averaging 16.0 points per game. The Bear, Delaware native shot 60.7% (17-28) from the floor and 61.5% (8-13) from behind the arc. She started the week dropping 12 points on 80% shooting in Towson's 73-70 overtime victory over Liberty. Johnston followed up with a career-high 24 points, scoring the Tigers' final 11 points and shooting 8-of-12 from the field against George Washington. On Sunday, she wrapped up the week with 12 points and a career-high four rebounds in Towson's 68-60 win over American.

Getting Down to Business
Redshirt senior guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas was named the CAA Player of the Week earlier this season. 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%.

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. The Tigers went 2-0 defeating UMBC 76-72 and followed up with a 80-69 victory against Morgan State.

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. 25 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Preseason Poll after being No. 23 the previous week. Towson was ranked as No. 19 in the preseason poll. The Tigers reached as high as No. 14 this season and have been ranked in every poll this season. Towson is joined by Stony Brook at the No.8 spot.

TU Fortress
The Tigers hold an 85-59 (.590) home record since TU Arena was built, including a 35-18 (.660) 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 943 points during her collegiate career. Kornegay-Lucas has totaled 784 points at Towson, including 466 last season.

Scouting N.C. A&T
The Aggies have a 6-6 overall record starting conference play 0-1. North Carolina A&T rank 22nd in the country in field goal defense allowing opponents to shoot 34.8% from the floor, while forcing the second most turnovers per game in the CAA averaging 19.6 a game. Maleia Bracone sits second in the conference in steals (35) and steals per game (2.9). The Aggies opened conference play with a 63-58 loss to College of Charleston. 

Last Time Out   
The Black & Gold took on Elon in the CAA opener yesterday night. Both teams came out trading baskets with the Phoenix holding a 10-9 edge. The Tigers finished the first quarter on a 5-0 to lead 14-10. Towson extended its lead after a 7-2 run, but a 14-4 run gave the Phoenix a one-point edge going into half. The teams went back and forth in the third quarter, trading small runs, but a last second shot by Elon tied the score at 38 heading into the fourth. The Phoenix gained a four-point advantage, but Kylie Kornegay-Lucas scored six straight points to reagin a three-point lead. The Tigers sealed a 58-53 victory after holding Elon scoreless for the final 1:47 to start 1-0 in CAA play.

Next Up
The Tigers return to TU Arena to host Stony Brook for Military Appreciation Night on Jan.12th at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloHoops.