Towson’s Offensive Woes Lead to 45-41 Loss Against Elon

By: Kylie Jones, Staff Writer and Jonathan Totten, Contributing Writer

With just a one day break after defeating the Pirates from Hampton, the Towson Tigers took on the Phoenix from Elon in a crucial CAA matchup. Elon, who is coming off of a week’s rest, entered TU arena as a 5-4 team in the conference, while the Tigers are 4-6.  

The first quarter showcased a slow start for both teams who couldn’t seem to get things going offensively. Accredited to their offensive rebounding, the Tigers had some opportunities to score but struggled under the glass, missing easy putbacks and wasting their second-chance opportunities. With the shots not falling, the extra efforts on the glass would have been enough to get the Tigers over the hump. 

“When you have 15 offensive rebounds that’s ultimately 30 points we could have gotten, and clearly we didn’t have enough of them,” said head coach Laura Harper. 

Elon’s defensive pressure in the first quarter made it difficult for Towson to find a rhythm, which put them ahead of the Tigers at the end of the first, 11-8. The Tigers shot 4-13 in the first, and were still looking for someone to take charge on the offensive. 

Towson finally seemed energized in the second quarter with a Kayla Morris block turned fast break layup for Khady Leye. Morris followed up by draining one from deep to bring the game to a 13-13 draw. The Tigers would take their first lead of the game after a pull-up jumper from Anasia Staton made the score 19-17. 

Freshman forward Khady Leye was at the head of the snake for the Tigers, scoring six points and racking up seven rebounds. The first half set the tone for a close-knit game with both teams knotted at 19. 

The second half opened with a back-and-forth battle until Towson was able to create separation for themselves with crucial stops turned into key baskets. The advantage was short lived, however, as Elon rallied back and the Tigers went 0-5 on their field goal attempts.  

“Between India and Anasia, we need them to be better offensively in order for us to be successful,” said Harper. “India, Anasia, and Khady have to score at a high level and today they just didn’t.” 

Despite Towson’s shooting woes, the Tigers pounded the ball inside and were able to draw fouls, shooting 10-15 from the line in the second half. Semaya Turner continued where she left off in the first half, scrapping for three rebounds to deny the Phoenix second-chance opportunities. 

The battle continued with both teams fighting for the lead, taking hits at each other but not enough to create a gap. This exchange of points would continue down to the final minutes of the game. 

With just over a minute left, Elon nailed a crucial three pointer to put them up by one point and then completed a layup to extend their lead to three with 42 seconds left. India Johnston would knock down 2-of-3 free throws to bring the Tigers within two points of the Phoenix with just shy of 30 seconds left. 

Elon then went 2-2 at the charity stripe, leaving the Tigers in a deficit with little time to make something happen. With just two seconds left and trailing by four, Towson’s Jordan Wakefield would throw up a last ditch effort three-pointer but it would fall short as the Tigers took the 45-41 loss to the Elon Phoenix. 

Both teams struggled to find a rhythm mainly attributed to turnovers. Elon finished the game with 11 while Towson finished with 16. This got the Tigers off kilter and kept usual scorers India Johnston and Anasia Staton ineffective the entire game. 

“We’ve turned the ball over quite a bit this season”, said Coach Harper about Towson’s ball security. “The turnovers were unforced with travels. We’re trying to make an emphasis on not having live ball turnovers and that’s something we can cut down on. We just have to be better with the ball.”

Despite the loss, Towson had a number of solid performers including Khady Leye with 10 points and eight rebounds, Semaya Turner with 10 rebounds, Kayla Morris with seven rebounds and four blocks, and Deja Bristol with nine points. 

Towson’s next matchup is on the road against the Hofstra Pride and will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.