Hines-Allen’s 17 not enough to carry poor shooting night for Tigers

By: Tyler Beard, Staff Writer

Senior forward LaTorri Hines-Allen’s 17 points were not enough for Towson, as the team lost 72-54 to Delaware on Thursday. Hines-Allen shot just 5-for-15 from the field, but made 7 of her 10 free throws and also had nine rebounds.

The Tigers (8-13, 4-5 Colonial Athletic Association) started off with a 3-pointer from freshman guard Breonn Hughey and the Blue Hens (9-11, 4-5 CAA) hit a 3-pointer of their own a few minutes later to tie the game up at 3-3.

Hines-Allen scored the next five points and helped give Towson an 8-3 lead with 14 minutes left in the half. However, Delaware answered back with a small run and went up 11-10. Both teams traded baskets for the next few minutes until Delaware went on a 9-0 run and took a 27-18 lead with two minutes left in the half.

Delaware almost took an 11-point lead into halftime, but senior guard Ciara Webb hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the half and cut the lead down to 31-23. Webb finished the game with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Tigers shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half and the team turned the ball over eight times.

Delaware scored the first seven points of the second half, which gave the team a 15-point lead. Towson made a few attempts to cut into the lead, including a layup from senior guard Dominique Johnson that cut the lead to 13 with 15 minutes left, but Delaware hit a 3-pointer right after.

Johnson finished the game with two points and fouled out with less than three minutes left in the second half.

“We have to learn how to keep the lead when we are up on teams,” Johnson said. “The game is full of runs, but we must continue to keep fighting. I am not saying we didn’t fight, but we should have maintained our lead, regardless.”

The Blue Hens held the Tigers in check the rest of the game and junior guard Courtni Green finished with 23 points.

Towson improved its shooting in the second half, as the team shot 40.7 percent, but it was not enough to recover from the slow first half. Towson struggled at the free-throw line as well, shooting just 58.3 percent as a team for the game.

The loss dropped Towson down to seventh place in the CAA standings and the team has now reached the halfway point of its CAA schedule.

Up next for the Tigers is a home matchup against the College of Charleston Cougars (4-15, 2-6 CAA). The Tigers beat the Cougars 56-52 earlier on in the season.

The game is on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the SECU Arena.