After opening the season with 10 wins in 11 games, including winning streaks of five and six games, the Towson University women?s basketball team is now looking to get back on track. The Tigers have lost three of their last four, including a 79-45 loss at Delaware Sunday.
They can start tonight at the Towson Center, with a 7 p.m. game against Hofstra (13-3).
“I think it started out well,” senior captain Kelly Robinson said. “We came out with a winning season non-conference. I think we?re on the right track and we?re going to have a good season.”
At 11-4 overall, including a 2-3 mark in Colonial Athletic Conference play, the Tigers are in the middle of the conference pack. The goals remain the same as they were when the season opened.
“Our goals haven?t changed,” Towson coach Joe Matthews said. “Wewant to position ourselves for March the best that we can. That means we have to play good basketball the rest of the way out. I think a good goal for this team is to get to the top half of the CAA.”
Just a few seasons ago, that goal seemed centuries away. Matthews took over a 3-25 team from the 2000-01 season, and in his first two seasons went a combined 5-51. He led the Tigers to a 16-14 mark in 2004-05, sandwiched between a pair of 9-19 seasons. Now, the team has goals of being in the top four in the conference.
“Whoever finishes in the top four are all worthy of a postseason bid,” Matthews said.
Of late, the team has been a bit inconsistent, playing what Matthews referred to as both “excellent minutes and poor minutes.” That?s to be expected to a point, particularly with the number of inexperienced players on which the Tigers rely.
Towson?s leading scorer is Shanae Baker-Brice, a freshman from Theodore Roosevelt High in Washington, D.C., while junior college transfer Holly Mahan is second on the team in points per game. But with a veteran core of junior Jamell Beasley, redshirt sophomore Alis Freeman and Robinson, the Tigers are looking to turn it around.
“They give me no reason to believe that we can?t,” Matthews said.
TIGER TURNAROUND
» The Tigers are 5-1 at the Towson Center and 6-3 in road contests.
» Shanae Baker-Brice is averaging 14.6 points per game, while Holly Mahan is scoring 11.8 and leading the way with eight rebounds per game.
» Kelly Robinson is the lone player to start every game. She recently broke the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
