PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Towson University women's basketball team faced Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday evening at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore (6-8) put late runs together in the first and second quarters to build a 45-30 halftime lead. Towson (5-5) came out of the break on a 14-4 run, outscoring UMES by 11 in the period. The Hawks hit a game-tying three in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime. Late in the overtime period, India Johnston went to the line for three free throws in a tie game. She hit one and the Tigers forced a turnover on the Hawks last possession to complete the comeback win.
 
Key Stats

• Towson posted a season-high 59 bench points compared to Maryland Eastern Shore's 31.
• The Tigers grabbed a season high 23 offensive rebounds in the game. They scored 29 second chance points off those turnovers compared to UMES' 16.
• The Black & Gold shot 54.8% (23-42) from the field in the second half and overtime period.

 
How it Happened

• Maryland Eastern Shore started with a 7-2 lead through the opening minutes of the game before Kayla Morris and Semaya Turner scored to tie the game at seven with 5:26 left in the quarter.
• The Hawks pushed their lead to four before India Johnston's made three with 53 seconds pulled the Tigers back within one at 17-16.
• UMES scored five points over the final 40 seconds of the quarter to extend the lead to six at the first break.
• Tilda Sjökvist hit a triple on TU's opening possession of the second quarter to pull the Black & Gold back within three.
• The Hawks pushed their lead to eight on the next two possessions before a 5-1 run Tiger run pulled the Tigers back within four at 28-24.
• The Hawks closed the half on a 17-6 run to take a 45-30 lead into halftime.
• UMES hit a layup on the opening possession of the third quarter to extend the lead to 17.
• Moments later, the Tigers went on a 14-2 run to pull within two possessions at 49-44 with 6:25 remaining in the period. Johnston led the Tigers with seven in the run, while Viki Matulevicus had four.
• Johnston's trey with 4:35 remaining in the quarter got the Tigers within a point at 53-52. IT capped a 12-point quarter for her.
• Aidan Langley tied the game at 55 on a free throw with 3:21 to go.
• The Hawks pushed reclaimed the lead and extended it to eight before Zoli Khalil and Thalia Shepard's layups in the closing minute pulled the Black & Gold back within four.
• Johnston and Khalil hit triples on consecutive possessions to open the fourth, giving the Tigers a 66-64 lead with 9:14 left in regulation.
• Over the next five-plus minutes, the teams traded the lead three times before being knotted up at 74 with 3:26 to go.
• A Hawk free throw with 2:16 left in regulation gave them a three-point lead.
• Kayla Morris, Shariah Baynes and Shepard's lay-ins in the final minutes gave the Tigers a three-point lead with 21 seconds on the clock.
• UMES hit a three pointer with 15 seconds on the clock to tie the game and send it to overtime.
• Late in a tightly contested overtime, Johnston went to the free throw line for three shots with less than five seconds remaining in a tie game.
• She hit the second free throw to give the Tigers an 87-86 lead.
• On the final possession, Shepard forced a steal and held the ball to secure the come-from-behind overtime win for Towson.

 
Inside the Numbers

• India Johnston finished with a career-high 26 points off the bench.
• Shariah Baynes posted a career-high 13 points.
• Kayla Morris grabbed 18 rebounds to mark a new career high.

 
Next Game
The Tigers will host the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at SECU Arena on Saturday at noon.