The Towson women?s basketball team is getting ready for a few days of sun.
As the Baltimore region is draped in snow, the Tigers will be at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, playing in the Comcast Lobo Shootout this weekend.
Towson (3-2) will face Southern (0-4) in the opening round on Friday night at 5 at The Pit. The winner will face either New Mexico (6-3) or Norfolk State (1-3) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the losers playing two hours earlier.
But according to Towson coach Joe Mathews, the trip is about much more than catching a tan or keeping the summer wardrobe out for one more week.
“It will be better weather,” Mathews said with a laugh. “That aside, the benefit we can get from this trip is quite special. The opportunity to play in front of eight to 10 thousand fans is one every player should get. Going into the Colonial Athletic Association, you have some hostile venues. If you have some postseason expectations, like we do, then you will play on back-to-back days and playing in New Mexico has all those opportunities for us.”
The Tigers have been led this season by guard Shanae Baker-Brice, who averages 13 points and 5.2 assists per game. Forward Holly Mahan has been consistent as well, scoring 9.8 points to go with 8.6 rebounds per game.
“I feel it could be a lot better than what I?m playing now,” she said. “I feel now I am going to do whatever I need to do to help my team win.”
For the Tigers, one of their keys will be balancing basketball and books. With the semester ending next week, many players have exams and assignments they must complete before they step on the court.
“We have a lot of school work trying to catch up for what we will miss,” Mahan said. “That way, we can be in a basketball state-of-mind.”
