TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's basketball team (9-16, 7-7 CAA) hosts UNCW (12-14, 6-7 CAA) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in a CAA rematch. The Tigers will celebrate six seniors for Senior Day.
 
The first 300 fans inside TU Arena will receive a Pride Day t-shirt courtesy of Towson Athletics.
 
Last Time Out
The Tigers visited the Cabot Center in Boston to face Northeastern for the second time this season on Friday night. India Johnston led the field with 21 points to cement a third-straight win for the Black & Gold in CAA play.
 
Scouting the Tigers
Towson faced many formidable foes in the non-conference slate, including matchups against two Associated Press (AP) top 25 teams in #16 West Virginia and # 11 Maryland through the first four games of the season. The Black & Gold played in the Puerto Rico Clásico in late November, facing UTSA and Youngstown State. The Tigers secured their first win of the season over Youngstown State and defeated American at home the following week in the penultimate non-conference game of the season.
 
The Tigers opened CAA play against Charleston on Jan. 3 at TD Arena, falling to the Cougars 67-50. Against UNCW that Sunday, India Johnston's running jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining gave the Tigers a one-point lead as they went on to win 70-69. The Tigers faced Monmouth in the first CAA home game on Jan. 10, dropping the contest to the Hawks 56-54 in a tight battle at TU Arena. Towson hosted the preseason favorite North Carolina A&T Aggies that Sunday and fell in the final minutes 61-59. While hosting Northeastern on Jan. 17, a strong second half cemented the Tigers' 79-43 victory at TU Arena. Towson faced Hampton to follow, surrendering an eight-point fourth quarter lead to fall to the Pirates 61-58. That Sunday, the Tigers faced William & Mary at Kaplan Arena, dropping the game to the Tribe 58-47. In the final CAA home game against Delaware, India Johnston's season-high 23 points led the Tigers past the Blue Hens to win 62-48. Against Drexel, two late turnovers in a one-possession game proved costly as the Tigers fell 53-49 in Philadelphia. In the first CAA rematch of the season, the Tigers topped Hampton 70-54 at TU Arena. In a game with five lead changes in the final quarter, Elon prevailed 45-41 over the Tigers at TU Arena. Strong shooting from the Tigers, 50.0% field goal percentage in the second, third and fourth quarters, lifted the Tigers over Hofstra 63-51 for their second CAA road win of the season. The Tigers followed that with a wire-to-wire 59-52 win over Stony Brook at TU Arena.
 
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW stand at 12-14 overall and 6-7 in league play. The Seahawks enter Sunday's matchup on a four-game losing streak after winning the previos three. Redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Henderson was a preseason second team all-league selection, while graduate guard Jania Hall earned an honorable mention nod.
 
League Honors
Khady Leye was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2 after averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in the Tigers' two games of the Puerto Rico Clásico, adding one block. In Towson's win over Youngstown State, the freshman forward had a career-high 19 points off the bench on 69.2% (9-13) shooting.
 
Leye earned her second CAA Rookie of the Week honor in as many weeks after averaging 17.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in the Tigers' 1-1 week vs. UMBC and American to begin December. The freshman shot a combined 61.5% (16-26) from the field, recording her second double-double of the season vs. American.
 
Leye received her third conference rookie of the week honor on Dec. 30 after posting nine points and six boards against Columbia in the Tigers' final non-conference game of the season. She added four steals and two blocks, both career-highs.
 
Leye earned her fourth league rookie of the week award on Jan. 27 after averaging 14.5 PPG on 50.0% shooting (10-20) while adding 4.5 RPG and 1.5 steals per game. Leye is the first four-time recipient in program history since Shanae Baker-Brice, who earned it four times in the 2006-07 season.
 
Impact Freshmen
Two Tiger freshmen have become impactful rotation players in the 2024-25 season. Forward Khady Leye leads the team with 7.0 RPG and stands third in scoring with 10.3 PPG. The Senegal native is second with 0.5 blocks per game, tied for third with 0.9 SPG and fourth with 1.1 APG. Guard Shariah Baynes is second on the team with 2.2 APG. The Philadelphia native stands sixth in scoring, averaging 4.4 PPG.
 
Setting Records
In the team's annual STEM Day game on Dec. 4, the Tigers set a program record with 3,590 fans in attendance at TU Arena. The second-highest attendance in Towson women's basketball history is 3,423 on Dec. 4, 2018, vs. Loyola.
 
Fresh Faces
The Tigers welcome five newcomers to the team this season, highlighted by CAA transfer Deja Bristol from Northeastern, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 RPG for the Huskies last season. Other transfers include junior guard Masyn Marchbanks from Samford, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 assists in 22.5 minutes per game for the Bulldogs last season, and graduate guard Jordan Wakefield, who most recently played for George Mason in the 2021-22 season.
 
CAA Preseason Poll
In the 2024-25 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, Towson was selected to finish third with one first-place vote. N.C. A&T led the way with 11 first-place votes. Drexel finished second with two first-place votes. Charleston and William & Mary finished in a tie for fourth, while Delaware and Elon completed the top half of the table. Campbell, Stony Brook, Monmouth, UNCW, Hofstra, Northeastern and Hampton rounded out the group.
 
Protect this House
The Tigers hold a 96-68 (.585) home record since TU Arena was built, including a 37-21 (.638) record against non-conference opponents. Towson holds a 60-47 (.561) record against CAA foes. The Tigers finished with a 9-4 record at home and had an 8-1 home record in conference play last year.
Note: The total number of wins is one short of the combined home and road records due to last season's regular season finale that Northeastern forfeited. The game was declared a no contest at the NCAA level, but the Tigers were awarded a CAA victory in the conference slate.
 
Earning Stripes
The Tigers welcome two new assistant coaches to the staff ahead of the 2024-25 season. Eric Atkins, who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Herd, the National Basketball Association (NBA) G-League affiliate for the Milwaukee Bucks, joined the staff in July. Atkins played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he graduated in 2014. He is the first three-year captain in the history of Notre Dame men's basketball. Also joining the staff is Lorie Khalil, who joins with 19 years of Division III coaching experience, including 10 seasons with Penn State Lehigh Valley most recently. She joins the staff with a 252-155 overall coaching record in 19 years across three D-III institutions.
 
Last Season's Recap
Towson finished the regular season 20-11 last season with an 11-7 mark in conference play, earning the sixth seed to the CAA Tournament in Washington, D.C. The Tigers defeated the 11-seed Northeastern Huskies before securing a spot in the CAA Tournament Semifinals with a win over 3-seed Charleston. In the semis vs. Drexel, the Black & Gold fell 68-69, finishing two points shy of securing a spot in the CAA Championship game for the second year in a row.
 
Next Up
The Tigers host the Campbell Camels for the first-time ever in CAA play on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. in their final home game of the regular season.