TOWSON, Md. – UMBC women's basketball's junior guard Taylor McCarley (Bowie, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in Tuesday afternoon's non-conference matchup at SECU Arena, but the Retrievers fell for the first time in three games to Towson, 61-51.

UMBC found itself trailing the Tigers by 15 in the third quarter, but the Retrievers mounted a come-back, pulling with three on three occasions in the fourth quarter. All three times, UMBC (2-3) was unable to get over the hump. Towson (1-3) finished the contest on an 11-4 run en route to its first victory of the season.

UMBC senior guard Liz McNaughton (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) finished the contest with 12 points on four-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc, while junior forward Pandora Wilson (Gaithersburg, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) chipped in her fourth double-digit performance of the season with 10 points and six rebounds.

Both teams got off to a slow start as the Retrievers knocked down just one-of-12 shots in the first quarter and Towson added a three-for-16 performance for a 7-5 Tiger lead at the end of the period.

Towson used the three-ball to build up a seven-point advantage, 15-8, but the Retrievers pulled within three, 15-12, following a Pandora Wilson jumper. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run behind Raven Bankston and Dominque Johnson, who combined for 15 points in the opening half. McNaughton tried to get the Retrievers back into the contest, hitting back-to-back treys, but Brianna Bush responded with a layup and Breonn Hughey added the Tigers' fourth three-pointer of the quarter to extend the lead back to nine, 27-18, with two minutes to go before the break.

The Retrievers trailed, 27-20, at the break after shooting 21.4 percent in the opening half. Towson knocked down 41.7 percent from long range in the half, including 66.7 percent in the second quarter, and 36.7 percent from the field.

Towson outscored the Retrievers, 8-1, to start the third quarter, but McNaughton knocked down her third trey of the afternoon to pull within 11, 35-24, with 4:27 to go. Despite letting up back-to-back buckets, UMBC finished with the final five points of the quarter to trim the deficit to 10, 41-31.

The Retrievers stormed back, going on an 8-1 run of their own, which was capped off by McNaughton's fourth trey of the afternoon, to pull UMBC within three, 42-39, with 7:29 remaining. Towson used a 6-2 spurt to extend its lead back to seven, 48-41, with 4:53 left. The Retrievers would pull within three one more time following a Stixz Wilson (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough) free throw with 2:47 to go before Towson posted an 11-4 run.

Raven Bankston finished with a game-high 23 points, while adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Johnson chipped in 11 points and Daijha Thomas pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Towson shot 50 percent in the second half and 42.9 percent for the game, while the Retrievers knocked down 27.0 percent of their shots from the field for the day.

On the Horizon for the Retrievers

-UMBC hosts three straight to start the month of December, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup on Dec. 2 against American.