Box Score

TOWSON, Md. -- Despite trailing by 18 at halftime and going down as many as 26 in the second half, a furious late rally led the Towson Tigers (10-17, 4-12 CAA) to a 73-69 overtime victory over the Northeastern women's basketball team (15-11, 8-7 CAA) on Thursday night at the Towson Center Arena.

Sophomore A'lece Mark (Springfield, Mass.) led the Northeastern offense with 17 points, while redshirt-senior Kashaia Cannon (Providence, R.I.) added 16. Both players also notched four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Christine Huber (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Jewel Tunstull (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points and six rebounds apiece, both fouling out at the end of regulation.

Towson was led by a 36-point, 10-rebound double-double from Tanisha McTiller, who did nearly all of her damage in the second half and overtime after scoring just four points in the opening stanza. Michelle Peebles also notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Dominique Johnson added 16 points.

Also filling out the scoresheet for NU was Amencie Mercier (Pierrefonds, Quebec), who scored nine points with a team-high five assists. Rookies Kazzidy Stewart (Lanham, Md.) and Samantha DeFreese (Bergenfield, N.J.) scored five and two points, respectively, and Tanisha Hopewell (Upper Marlboro, Md.) grabbed four rebounds.

The Huskies shot 40 percent (26-65) from the floor in the loss, including a 36.4 percent mark (9-26) from beyond the arc. They out-rebounded the Tigers 41-40, but turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 13 Towson steals. TU made a dent in second-chance points and fast break scoring, outscoring NU 26-12 in those two categories combined.

Northeastern used 19-0 run in the first frame to build a 36-18 halftime lead, and led by as many as 26 in the second half. Towson used a 35-9 advantage over the final ten minutes of regulation to force overtime, where they closed out the win.

Tunstull scored Northeastern's first two baskets, working her way inside for a pair of lay-ins off the backboard. Back-to-back steals helped the Huskies take an 8-4 lead at 16:20, but the Tigers battled back with 10 straight points to jump ahead 14-8  before the 11:55 media stoppage.

Cannon hit her first three of the game after the timeout to cut the lead in half, then Huber knocked down one of her own to tie the game at the 11-minute mark. Those baskets were the catalyst to a 19-0 Northeastern run, encompassing the 6:26 media stop and a TU timeout at 5:31, which put the Huskies up 27-14. Included in the run were five 3-pointers, two each for Cannon and Huber and one from Mark.

Towson finally ended the run before the half's final media timeout, and the Huskies took an 11-point lead to the 2:50 break. McTiller cut the lead back to single digits after the stop, but nine straight points for the Huskies, including a circus-style three-point play for Cannon, sent NU to the break up 36-18. Cannon led all first half scorers with 11 points at the half, and Northeastern out-rebounded Towson 23-16 in the first frame.

The Tigers scored the first points of the second half, as McTiller hit TU's first 3-pointer of the half. The Huskies responded with nine straight points, going ahead 20 for the first time at 17:04 of the second. Towson took its first timeout of the half at 15:13, with Northeastern on top 47-23.

The Huskies built on their lead for much of the second half, going up as many as 26 midway through the frame. A 14-0 Tiger run closed the gap to 12 following the under-eight timeout, before Mark ended the run with a 3-pointer and pushed the lead back to 15. The Tigers did not relent, building their run to 29-6 and pulling within three at 59-56 before a La-Force timeout with 2:59 remaining.

A DeFreese lay-in pushed the lead back to five, but back-to-back baskets from Towson had the Tigers within one, and a Northeastern turnover gave TU possession before a time-out with 53.7 seconds remaining. NU was able to force a McTiller turnover and take the ball back with 44 ticks on the clock, but Cannon missed a jumper and Towson got down the court for a McTiller lay-in to go ahead with 8.4 seconds left.

After a successful inbound, Mark got up court and was fouled with 4.5 seconds remaining, going to the line for a 1-and-1. Towson took time to try and ice her, and she hit the front end before the second shot rimmed out. TU grabbed the rebound and called time with 3.2 ticks left in regulation, and after a pair of timeouts Mark stole a long Tiger pass and the contest went to overtime.

Peebles hit a lay-in for the first basket of the extra frame, before Cannon tied it back up with a pair of free throws. A McTiller jumper and a Johnson 3-pointer put the Tigers up five, and the Tigers closed out their enormous comeback with strong free throw shooting in the final seconds of overtime.

Up next, Northeastern returns home to close its regular with three games at the friendly confines of Solomon Court. First up will be Old Dominion on Sunday, March 3, for the final CAA match-up ever between the squads. The Huskies and Lady Monarchs are set to tip at 2 p.m.

Game Notes:
- Thursday's game marks the final for NU at the Towson Center Arena, as Towson will open a new facility for the 2013-14 season
- Kashaia Cannon has a 3-pointer in every game this year, and at least two in 22 of 26
- Cannon's double figure scoring game was her 21st this year and the 50th of her career
- Christine Huber scored in double figures for the ninth time this year and first since Jan. 24 vs. Drexel
- Tanisha McTiller's 36-point output is the most for any single player vs. Northeastern in a game this season
- Northeastern saw four players hit double figures for the first time since Jan. 13 at James Madison
- NU is now 1-2 in overtime games this year, both losses coming on the road in CAA play