Matthew Hazlett/ The Towerlight

Towson closed out the Towson Center in memorable fashion Saturday night with a 79-63 win over William & Mary.

The win was Head Coach Joe Mathews’ 146th victory of his coaching career, which sets the program record.

Junior guard Tanisha McTiller capped off the home slate of the season for the Tigers (11-17, 5-12 Colonial Athletic Association) by scoring her 1,000th career point. McTiller finished the game with a game-high 28 points, but her most notable points didn’t come until the game’s final seconds.

With less than 20 seconds to go in the game, McTiller was sitting at 999 career points.

A William & Mary (7-21, 5-12 CAA) turnover with just 16 seconds remaining gave her one last scoring opportunity.

McTiller attacked the basket and scored on a layup with just seconds remaining.

It was the final basket in the Towson Center.  The score made her the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

After the game, McTiller couldn’t hold back a smile when asked if she knew she needed one more basket to reach 1,000 points.

“I was just thinking about winning,” McTiller said. “Scoring 1,000 points is a big accomplishment but to me, winning is even better.”

Mathews had nothing but positives to say about McTiller after her performance.

“I’m not sure there’s a better player or better season than what Tanisha has done this year,” Mathews said.

McTiller is currently averaging 18.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

The win for the Tigers was the team’s fourth in its last five games. For the second time this season, the team reached that milestone.

“This is a really special night to close out the Towson Center,” Mathews said. “I think they’ve really come together at the right time. They’re playing right and playing well.”

The turnaround over the last five games stems from the improving health of the team.

The biggest addition to the lineup has been freshman Alliyah Berger, who missed four weeks between January and February with a broken hand.

Berger scored a career-high 19 points against the Tribe, including five three-pointers.

“We talked during her injury that she’s not just a spot up shooter,” Mathews said. “I told her to just get the foul line, drive to the lane. And in turn, the three-pointers will come, which is what has happened.”

With the CAA tournament less than two weeks away, the confidence level as a team is at a season high.

“We’re extremely confident,” junior forward Nyree Williams said. “We’re playing as a team. Everybody is filling up the stat line and that’s what we needed to do all year.”

Williams recorded her seventh “double-double” of the season with an 18-point, 13-rebound performance against William and Mary.

The final regular season game for the Tigers is Wednesday as the team travels to UNC-Wilmington. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

With a win against UNC-Wilmington, the Tigers can avoid playing on the first day of the conference tournament. Towson is currently seventh in the nine-team tournament pool.