NORFOLK, Va. - Shanae Baker-Brice scored nine of the Tigers' 14 points in overtime to lead the Tigers to a 64-56 win over Old Dominion in the regular season finale for both teams on Wednesday evening. Towson (15-14, 9-9 CAA) earned their first ever win over Old Dominion, who captured the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title.
"I'm extremely proud of our kids tonight", said Coach Joe Mathews. "We challenged the kids in shoot around today to step up and come ready to play and they really responded."
With the score tied at 50-50 at the start of overtime, the Tigers struck first as Baker-Brice drained a three-pointer. Old Dominion scored the next four points in the extra session to take a 54-53 lead with 2:29 to play. Katrina Wheeler hit a pair of free throws at 2:05 to jump start a 10-0 Towson run. Baker-Brice capped the run with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining and the Tigers led 63-54. Old Dominion got one final basket before Haliena Snowden hit one of two from the line to seal the victory.
The game was a tight battle from the start. With the score tied at 4-4, the Tigers went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-7 lead with 13:57 remaining in the first half. The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes as a Baker-Brice jumper at 6:59 tied the game at 20-20. Old Dominion closed the half on a 10-5 run to take a 30-25 lead into the break.
Towson scored the first four points of the second half to make it a 30-29 with 18:51 to go. The Lady Monarchs went on a 6-1 run to take a 36-30 lead with 15:41 to go. The Tigers responded with an 11-0 run to take a 41-36 lead with 10:13 to go. Kandace Davis hit a lay-up at 7:05 to give the Tigers a 44-38 lead. The two teams traded baskets and Tia Lewis made one of two from the charity stripe to tie the game at 46-46 with 2:51 to play. The Tigers and Lady Monarchs traded baskets and the score was tied at 48-48 with 2:21 to play. Kquanise Byrd made one of two free throws at 1:35 to put the home team up 49-48. Krystin Fields stole the ball and hit a lay-up with 34 seconds remaining to put Towson up 50-49. The Tigers got called for a foul with 11 seconds remaining but Jessica Canady hit just one of two from the line. Old Dominion got the rebound off the miss but did not get a shot off sending the game to overtime.
For the Tigers, it was their first win in 15 tries against the Lady Monarchs. Baker-Brice led all scorers with 20 points, her 13th 20+ point performance of the year. She would also add eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Wheeler recorded her second straight "double-double" and fifth of the season after finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Snowden was the third Tigers in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds. Fields earned her second start of the season and posted a career-high nine points, four rebounds and two blocks. Davis finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks. The three blocks puts Davis over 100 for her career, the fourth player in school history to do so.
Canady led Old Dominion with 11 points and seven rebounds. Byrd and Lewis came off the bench to score 10 points apiece for the Lady Monarchs.
Towson returns to action on March 11 when the CAA Championship begins at James Madison. The Tigers will be the seven seed and face tenth seeded UNC Wilmington at 5 p.m.
-- TIGERS --
