Troy University’s women’s basketball team secured a close 82-80 win over the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) on Saturday at Trojan Arena. The victory was clinched by Fortuna Ngnawo, who made two free throws with four seconds left in the game.
With this result, Troy improved to 21-5 overall and 12-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, maintaining its position at the top of the conference standings. The Trojans also extended their home winning streak against ULM to 11 games.
Ngnawo led Troy with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals, marking her 14th double-double of the season. Zay Dyer recorded her 10th consecutive double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Other starters contributing double-digit points included Emani Jenkins (18), Ashley Baez (10), and Rachel Leggett (10). As a team, Troy shot 90 percent from the free-throw line and made five three-pointers from Jenkins.
ULM forced 20 turnovers but was outrebounded by Troy, who had a 44-35 advantage on the boards. Nakiyah Mays-Prince played nearly the entire game for ULM and finished with 27 points, 11 assists, and three steals.
The game saw Troy hold a double-digit lead through most of the third quarter before ULM mounted a comeback in the fourth. After an early fourth-quarter run by ULM cut Troy’s lead to four points, Jenkins responded with her fifth three-pointer to extend Troy’s advantage. ULM briefly took a late lead before Ngnawo tied the game following a steal by Leilani Guion. With seven seconds left, Mays-Prince tied it again for ULM at the free-throw line.
After a timeout called by head coach Chanda Rigby, Ngnawo drew a foul on an inbound play and converted both free throws for what proved to be the winning margin.
“It was a good day in Trojan Arena. We’re grateful to come out with the win. It was necessary to stay in first place, and it came down to the last shot. Even when we had a 15-point lead, I knew it wasn’t enough. This is the hottest team in the Sun Belt we’ve played. They’ve won four in a row, some by 25 or 26 points. The way they played in the fourth quarter is how they’ve been playing and what we expected. It’s hard to beat a team like that. I’m proud of our team. It came down to the last play. We work on those special situations, but it’s almost impossible to mimic that urgency in practice. The first time you really see it is in a moment like that, and they executed it — got the ball to Fortuna, she turned, tried to draw a foul, and it worked perfectly,” said Rigby after the game.
Troy will next face South Alabama at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
