The Lady Hoyas 2006-07 season started off on a sour note when, after a late-game tie, the Hoyas fell 64-57 to the Towson Tigers.
At the start, the game seemed to be going in the favor of the Hoyas. While Towson put two points on the board first, the Hoyas followed with a three pointer from senior guard Kate Carlin. The Hoyas increased their lead to 10-2. When the Hoyas reached 16 points, however, they failed to hit another shot for nearly three minutes, allowing Towson to accumulate 10 points and take the lead 22-16.
With two minutes left in the first half and Towson up 29-18, Hoya junior guard Kristin Heidloff started a run with a layup. Before the Tigers could get a shot in, junior forward Kieraah Marlow scored another layup. Just 15 seconds later, Towson sent Marlow to the free-throw line. After Marlow made the first and missed the second, sophomore forward Katrina Wheeler grabbed the rebound and put it back up to decrease the Hoyas’ deficit to four. A three-pointer from the Tigers’ Holly Mahan and a foul shot from the Hoyas’ redshirt sophomore Brina Pollack rounded the score off in favor of the Tigers 32-26 at the half.
“We figured if we got it close enough so we could come out of the second half and get things under control and have everything in our possession, then we’d be fine,” Marlow said of the run.
The Hoyas came out in the second half more aggressive and worked to get the ball inside. They still trailed Towson 53-41 when an intentional foul was called on Towson’s Alis Freeman. Marlow, being sent to the foul line, made one of two shots. The momentum built up as the Hoyas went on a second run. The foul shot from Marlow followed by a layup by her brought the Hoyas to 44 points. Freshman guard Meredith Cox hit a three-pointer, and one minute later Pollack hit a jump shot. After Towson failed to get points in their possession, the Hoyas pushed the ball down the court to get a layup from junior center Aminata Diop. The team gained two more points when Towson’s Freeman sent Heidloff to the free-throw line.
With the score tied 53-53, the Hoyas failed to hold on, scoring only four more points the rest of the game to Towson’s twelve. Towson accumulated seven of these 12 points in the last minute, when the Hoyas sent Towson freshman guard Shanae Baker-Brice to the foul line four times. Towson took the game 65-57.
Even though the Hoyas failed to take home the win, they showed their strength inside. Wheeler led the team in total rebounds with 17, and Marlow was second with 13. Both topped Towson’s top rebounder Kelly Robinson who accrued eight rebounds.
“[The] front court was our strength on Saturday. We’ll need that type of performance from Kieraah and Katrina every night,” Hoya Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy wrote in an email.
One specific weakness the Hoyas displayed was the number of points off turnovers the Hoyas gave to Towson. Towson gave five points while the Hoyas gave away 18.
“We just need to do a better job of taking care of the ball as a whole. A lot of our turnovers were self-inflicted, and we have to minimize them,” Williams-Flournoy wrote.
The Hoyas look to improve their season at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic in Hawaii this weekend. The Hoyas will face off against Hawaii tomorrow and then either Oklahoma or East Kentucky on Saturday.
