TOWSON, Md. — In the month of March anything can happen - magical tournament runs, dreams realized, life-changing moments on the basketball court.
The Towson University women's basketball team hopes all of that is in the cards this week.
The Tigers are getting ready for the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament, which is going down in Washington, D.C. Head coach Laura Harper’s group is the No. 6 seed. They begin tournament play on Thursday night in the second round against the winner of Wednesday night’s game between No. 11 Northeastern and No. 14 North Carolina Wilmington.
This Towson team is motivated to put a winning streak together, get back to the CAA title game, win it and grab that automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. They want to finish the job after falling short in last year’s championship contest.
This year they know they have as good a shot as anyone to get back to the big dance for the first time since 2019 and second time in program history.
"I think the motivation is definitely there, especially after losing the championship game last year. I think that just carries on to this year. We just have to take it game by game," said Kylie Kornegay-Lucas. The Tigers guard earned All-CAA first-team honors and CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
"We feel like we have all the players. We may not have played the regular season that we wanted but I feel like we are coming together and we are peaking at the right time," added All-CAA second-team guard Patricia Anumgba.
"Last year really prepared us for what the process looks like. We know what it feels like to be there. We also know what it feels like to deal with the adversity of the season," said Tigers head coach Laura Harper. "I really feel like this is our most confident team this year to date right now."
Towson is coming off back-to-back WNIT appearances but they yearn to put those NCAA Tournament dancing shoes on once again.
A benefit for the Tigers heading into tournament play is depth and the potential to play up to 13 players on any given night. That is big when you plan on winning four games in four days.
Tip-off for the Tigers on Thursday night arrives at 7:30 p.m. at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington.
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