#10 Towson Upsets #7 William & Mary

3/9/2016 4:49:47 PM

Kelly McCarthy

BOX SCORE | CAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 9, 2016) – Tenth-seeded Towson led wire-to-wire and held off a late comeback by William & Mary in a 71-65 upset of the seventh-seeded Tribe in the opening round of the 2016 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship at the Show Place Arena.

The Tigers (7-23) will face second-seeded Drexel in Thursday’s quarterfinal which is set for 5 p.m. The Tribe finishes the season at 15-15 overall.

Towson had a balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures, including Raven Bankston, who had a team-high 18 points, and Dominique Johnson who finished with 17 points. As a team, Towson shot 48.8 percent (20-of-41) from the field.

For the Tribe, All-CAA Third Team selection Marlena Tremba nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. All-CAA Second Team selection Alexandra Masaquel tallied 16 points and nine rebounds.

Down by 13 points entering the final six minutes of the game, the Tribe cut into the lead late, pulling within 64-57 on a lay-up by Masaquel. Tremba banged home a three-pointer with 1:16 left to cut it to 66-60. With 57.9 seconds remaining, Tremba made it a five-point game, 67-62, with a pair of free throws.

With 35.1 seconds remaining, Brooke Stewart grabbed an offensive board and was fouled on the putback. She completed the three-point play and pulled the Tribe within 67-65. Martin hit a pair of clutch free throws four seconds later to make it a two-possession game. With 12.4 seconds left, Johnson hit a pair of free throws to return the lead to six points, 71-65, and hang on for the win.

It was not the first comeback of the day for the Tribe. William & Mary surged in the final seconds of the opening frame, scoring four points in 13 seconds points to pull ahead, 13-11. With two ticks left on the clock, a rainbow three-pointer by Sianni Martin gave Towson a 14-13 lead.

The Tigers picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, scoring eight straight points for the 22-13 advantage. Tremba stopped the run with a three-pointer at the 7:23 mark. Towson continued to roll, opening up a 31-23 lead on a steal and a lay-up by Johnson with 1:39 left in the half. Tremba closed the gap to 33-27 with just under 39 seconds remaining. With 1.6 seconds left, Tremba was fouled on a three-point attempt and she sank all three free throws to pull William & Mary within 33-30 heading into the break.

Towson shot 57 percent in the first half, including a 4-of-7 clip from three-point range. The Tigers held William & Mary to 33 percent shooting.

Both teams went scoreless over the first three minutes of the second half until Johnson hit a free throw. The first field goal of the third quarter came seconds later on a drive down the lane by Martin to push the Towson lead to six points. Bianca Boggs put the Tribe on the board at 6:10 with a three-pointer to make the score, 36-33. The Tigers pushed their lead back up to seven points, 45-38, on a pair of free throws by Johnson with 10.7 seconds left in the quarter. Tremba answered with a three-pointer from way downtown as time expired to pull William & Mary 45-41.

Towson came out firing in the fourth quarter, hitting a quick pair of three-pointers to push its lead to double figures for the first time. The Tigers led by as much as 13 points in the final stanza before William & Mary chipped away at the lead.

William & Mary out-rebounded Towson, 46-31, while the Tigers had nine steals.