Bristol and Staton Dominate, Stifle Seawolves in 59-52 Victory

By: Kylie Jones, Staff Writer and Henry Ortiz, Contributing Writer

Coming off of a comeback road win against Hofstra, the Towson Tigers faced their lone conference matchup against the Seawolves from Stony Brook. The Seawolves entered TU Arena just one win ahead of the Tigers, and fresh off of a two-point loss against Hampton, a team that the Tigers are 1-1 against. In order to take this one, the Tigers would need to play a complete game from start to finish– something they’ve struggled with throughout the season. 

The first quarter opened with an explosive performance from Towson’s Deja Bristol who put up nine points for Towson in just the first few minutes of the game. 

“My teammates were feeding me, and that’s what we’ve been working on,” said Bristol. “I’m always motivated by my coaches and teammates, so it’s not new for me to play like this.”

Despite Bristol’s dominance, Stony Brook continued to put the pressure on the Tigers, keeping the first quarter narrow. Tigers’ India Johnston would drain a three ball followed by a drive from Anasia Staton where she got the bucket and drew the foul, converting on her free throw to close out the first quarter 17-9, Tigers ahead. 

Staton opened up the second quarter with a three-pointer to bring the Tigers lead to double digits. After a pull-up jumper from Johnston, Towson’s scoring halted for four consecutive minutes. This drought came to a close with back-to-back buckets by Staton, ending the first half with the Tigers on top, 26-22. 

Staton led the charge in the first half for Towson with 10 points and six rebounds. Bristol followed close behind with nine points and three rebounds after a dominant first quarter performance. 

“There’s nobody in the gym that’s working harder than Nay [Staton],” said Head Coach Laura Harper. “Everytime she gets the ball I’m confident. She’s in here hours before the game doing this so it’s just nice that it’s finally working itself out.” 

Bristol would get things started in the second half with a hard-fought driving layup, which eventually turned into a 7-0 run by the Tigers. Khady Leye would contribute her first points of the game, a corner three-pointer, followed by an Aminata Diakite three-pointer to finish the third with Towson leading, 41-36. 

Stony Brook came out firing in the fourth, quickly adding two buckets, making it a one point game. Staton would respond with five points of her own, followed by two layups from Leye to help the Tigers gain some traction on Stony Brook.
 

When asked about her mentality in the fourth, Staton said, “We take it five minutes at a time. Cut the quarter into five and after that first five, focus on the next. We just push on until the clock hits zero.” 

Johnston would add a floater and then hit one from deep to put the Tigers up by 12 with just 1:58 to go. After an unsuccessful last minute push from Stony Brook, Towson was able to take the victory, 59-52. 

Leaders for Towson included Bristol with 16 points and five rebounds, Staton with 15 points and seven rebounds, Johnston with 12 points, and Leye with seven points and seven rebounds. Towson advances to 6-7 in conference play. 

The Tigers’ next matchup is on the road against Northeastern on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.