In Sunday?s 63-59 win over UNC Wilmington, the Towson women?s basketball team tripled its fun.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak, provided the program a record 17th regular season win, and sent the Tigers? seniors out with a victory in their final game at the Towson Center.
“Anytime you have Senior Day, it?s a celebration of kids that have been dedicated to the program for four years,” Towson coach Joe Mathews said. “And we would not be where we are today without their efforts.”
Towson (17-10 overall, 9-4 Colonial Athletic Association) senior forward Kelly Robinson, who scored the 1,000th point of her career earlier this season, played in a school record-tying 113th career game as she and three classmates were honored. Guard Katarina Stimac, centers Kim Pyne (Howard High) and Erin Gaston, and Robinson all played their final home games in black and gold.
Gaston, who is a fifth-year senior, entered in 2002, and was a part of the ?02-?03 team that went 3-25. The next year – the freshman season for Stimac and Robinson ?the Tigers went 9-19. In 2004-05, Towson improved to 16-14, and last season the Tigers went 9-19 in an injury-riddled campaign.
The 1983-84 Tigers won 16 regular season contests before adding three more postseason wins under coach Sheilah Collins. This year?s edition broke that group?s wins record.
“It?s wonderful to send them out the way they deserve to be,” Mathews said.
The win couldn?t come at a better time, either. Towson entered the game on a four-game slide, with James Madison (24-4, 15-2) looming as the final opponent before the CAA tournament.
“I think it was critical, just for the confidence level,” Mathews said. “We finished with such a tough stretch of games ? the scheduling gods were not kind to us, but you have to play who you have to play.”
TOWSON SENIORS
» Kelly Robinson: The 6-foot-2 forward leads the team in rebounding; scored career point No. 1,000 this season.
» Katarina Stimac: The 6-foot-1 guard from Croatia has played in 67 games and is pursuing an international business degree.
» Erin Gaston: The 6-foot-1 center, a sociology/criminal justice major, started 11 games as a freshman, but missed the ?03-?04 season with injury.
» Kim Pyne: The 6-foot-4 center from Howard High played in 45 games over two seasons for the Tigers after transferring from George Mason.
