Jan. 2, 2005

Box Score

Towson, Md.-Towson University's women's basketball team (8-4, 1-0) opened Colonial Athletic Association play with a 72-60 win over George Mason University (4-5, 0-1) Sunday afternoon at the Towson Center.

Tierra Jackson, Kelli Talbot, Kelly Robinson, and Alis Freeman all scored in double figures for Towson, the second time this season the Tigers have had four players score over 10 points in a game.

The two teams battled for the lead early, tying the score five times. Towson took an eight-point lead over the Patriots on a lay-up by Robinson at 13:11 in the first half. George Mason knotted the score on a two-pointer by senior center Julie Flanders (St. Thomas, V.I.) at the 11:29 mark and then took the lead a minute later with a trey by freshman guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.). Towson's LaShay Rose matched Quigley's 3-pointer with one of her own to draw the two teams even at 21 with 10:13 left in the first.

From there, Mason ran out to a 35-23 lead on the strength of an 11-2 run started at 9:49 with a Flanders lay-up. The Tigers pulled to within five at 40-35 with 1:35 left after answering with an 11-0 run of their own and Mason went into the break ahead, 40-36.

In the second stanza, Talbot made two quick lay-ups to even the score at 40 with 18:02 remaining. A Jackson jumper at 16:52 gave the Tigers the lead for good at 42-40. Towson extended its lead to seven points three times over the rest of the game, but Mason wouldn't leave quietly. The Patriots cut Towson's advantage to two points three times, the last came with 4:25 left in the game after Mason's Flanders hit a jumper to make it 60-58. Towson closed out the game by stringing together another 12-2 run and earned the team's largest lead of the game with 30 seconds left after a pair of Robinson free throws made it 72-60.

The Patriots had three players in double digits. Junior guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, N.J.) led Mason with 13 points and two steals, while freshman forward Moni Akuntunde (Laurel, Md.) added 11 and pulled down seven boards for the Patriots. Flanders chipped in 10 points and led her teammates with nine boards.

Towson earned its first win in 13 tries over Mason and shot 75.0 percent from behind the three-point line and 84.2 percent at the free throw line, both season highs for the Tigers. This is the Tigers' first-ever CAA season opening win and their first conference season opening win since the 1997-98 season.

The Patriots will return to action on Jan. 5 when they host Hofstra at 7:00 p.m.