The Troy women’s basketball team is set to host Georgia Southern in a Sun Belt Conference matchup at Trojan Arena on Thursday, January 22. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. Both teams are near the top of the conference standings, with Troy (15-3, 6-1 SBC) trailing Arkansas State by half a game and Georgia Southern (13-5, 6-2 SBC) tied for third place.
Troy will distribute cardinal t-shirts to the first 200 students attending the game. Fans will also see a halftime performance by the Air Elite Dunkers.
Last week, Troy secured close road victories against ULM and Texas State, making them one of only two teams in the conference with a single league loss. Zay Dyer led the team during these games with averages of 18 points and 15.5 rebounds per contest. The Trojans remain unbeaten at home this season and hold the highest NCAA NET ranking among Sun Belt teams at No. 62.
All five Troy starters average double figures in scoring, making them unique in their conference. Fortuna Ngnawo leads with an average of 15 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, followed by Dyer, Emani Jenkins, Ashley Baez, and Rachel Leggett. Dyer and Ngnawo have combined for 19 double-doubles this season.
Georgia Southern enters Thursday’s contest having won 12 of its last 14 games. The Eagles lead the league in assist/turnover ratio and field goal percentage. Kishyah Anderson has been their leading scorer in conference play.
“Thursday will mark the first meeting between Troy and Georgia Southern since Jan. 4, 2024, with Troy winning the last four and 21 of its last 23 meetings,” according to information provided by Troy athletics staff.
“Troy has never lost to Georgia Southern at home, sitting at 11-0 all-time.”
Other notable achievements include Zay Dyer reaching her Division-I career-high rebound total during last week’s win over Texas State; she is now four rebounds away from recording her thousandth career rebound. Head coach Chanda Rigby is approaching two significant milestones: five wins shy of becoming Troy’s all-time winningest coach and two wins away from her career five-hundredth victory.
The Trojans are currently second among Division-I teams in rebounding average at just over fifty boards per game and have led nationally in that category for seven straight seasons.
Emani Jenkins stands out as well for her three-point shooting accuracy—she ranks second in made threes per game within the conference while holding top marks nationally for three-point percentage.
Troy recently set new single-game program records for points scored (132), three-pointers made (20), and assists (36) during a win over Oakwood College.
For each player mentioned:
– Fortuna Ngnawo was named Sun Belt Player of the Week early this season.
– Zay Dyer joined both the school’s thousand-point club earlier this year.
– Freshman Saniya Jackson has scored in every appearance so far.
– Emani Jenkins broke school records for most threes made in a single game earlier this season.
Last season saw Troy reach the WNIT Championship game before losing to Buffalo after what was described as a historic run.
