The Troy women’s basketball team is preparing for its final home game of the regular season against Southern Miss on Saturday, February 21, at Trojan Arena. The matchup will also serve as senior day, honoring Zay Dyer, Emani Jenkins, Kamesha Moore, Fortuna Ngnawo, and Rachel Leggett.
With a record of 22-5 overall and 13-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, the Trojans have secured a top-five seed for the conference tournament following their recent win over South Alabama. This victory extended their winning streak to seven games and kept them tied for first place with Georgia Southern. A win on Saturday would guarantee Troy a top-three seed.
Southern Miss enters the contest at 14-13 overall and 7-8 in conference play. The Golden Eagles are currently part of a three-way tie for the sixth seed with Old Dominion and Texas State. With three games left in the regular season, Southern Miss can finish as high as sixth or drop to eleventh in the standings. The team leads the league in free throw percentage at 75.4 percent and has shot nearly 79 percent from the line during conference play.
Saturday’s game marks the last regular-season home appearance for seven seniors on Troy’s roster; five will be recognized during senior day ceremonies. Zay Dyer joined Troy ahead of the 2023-24 season and played a role in securing the program’s first postseason victory en route to reaching the Fab Four in 2024 and finishing as WNIT Championship runners-up in 2025. Fortuna Ngnawo and Emani Jenkins joined one year later; Jenkins currently leads Troy with an average of 15.2 points per game while setting a new single-season record with 88 made three-pointers. Leggett and Moore arrived this season and have contributed to Troy’s position atop the conference standings.
Dyer concludes her career at Trojan Arena ranked fourth all-time at Troy with 945 rebounds—the most by any Division I player at the school—and holds several other records including blocks (87) and field goals made (462). She also set a single-game rebounding record earlier this season with her performance against Louisiana.
Troy head coach Chanda Rigby recently became both Troy’s all-time wins leader—passing Joyce Sorrell with her 275th victory—and reached her own milestone of 500 career wins after defeating Marshall.
In previous matchups between these teams, Southern Miss holds a historical advantage but Troy has won two straight meetings at home. In their last encounter in Hattiesburg, multiple Trojans scored double digits including Ngnawo (22), Jenkins (22), Baez (16), Leggett (15), and Dyer (10).
Troy continues to lead several statistical categories within the Sun Belt Conference such as assists per game (16), rebound margin (+12.7), total rebounds per game (50.1), scoring margin (+14), defensive rebounds (31.8), offensive rebounds (18.3) and points per game (83.4). The team ranks ninth nationally among mid-major programs according to recent polls.
Jenkins’ shooting from beyond the arc has set new standards for both single-season makes and accuracy while Ngnawo remains among conference leaders averaging over fifteen points per contest on nearly forty-four percent shooting from the field.
The Trojans have not been outrebounded by any league opponent this year—a trend that has continued through fifteen games—and remain undefeated when losing opening tips at home.
Senior Rachel Leggett recently joined Dyer as an active member of Troy’s “1,000-point club” after making a three-pointer against Ball State earlier this month.
Coach Rigby reflected on her team’s accomplishments: “With her [Zay Dyer] name sealed in our record books through consistent effort every night out there—she exemplifies what it means to be a Trojan.”
The upcoming contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+; fans can also follow along via radio coverage or live statistics available through troytrojans.com/livestats.
