The Troy women’s basketball team is set to return home to Trojan Arena for a matchup against Appalachian State on Wednesday, February 4 at 6 p.m. The Trojans, currently holding an 18-4 overall record and 9-2 in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), are coming off a successful two-game road trip with wins over Marshall and Coastal Carolina.
During their recent games, Troy overcame significant deficits, including a 21-point comeback against Marshall and an eight-point deficit against Coastal Carolina. These victories have placed the Trojans third in the SBC standings, trailing Arkansas State by one game. Ashley Baez played a key role during the week, averaging 19 points, 4.5 assists, and three steals per game.
Troy has been effective defensively this season, maintaining an undefeated record when allowing opponents to score fewer than 69 points or shoot under 40 percent from the field. The team also remains unbeaten on Wednesday games and when starting the second half with possession.
Head coach Chanda Rigby recently achieved her 500th career collegiate win following the comeback victory over Marshall. “With her win over Marshall, head coach Chanda Rigby claimed her 500th collegiate victory.” Rigby’s current record at Troy stands at 273-161; she is now two wins away from becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach.
Wednesday’s game will also mark Girls and Women in Sports Day at Trojan Arena. Special ticket pricing will be available, along with giveaways commemorating Rigby’s milestone victory. At halftime, Troy Athletics will honor Rigby’s achievement and recognize all of Troy’s women’s sports teams.
Appalachian State enters the contest with a 10-11 overall record and sits near the bottom of the conference standings after a recent loss to ULM. Their defense leads the league in points allowed per game (58.9). Emma Smith is among conference leaders in both steals and assists while contributing just over ten points per game.
The Trojans hold an all-time record of 18-2 against App State and have won their last eight meetings. In their previous encounter this season in Boone, Zay Dyer scored 22 points with 16 rebounds for a double-double while Baez added another strong performance.
Several individual records are within reach for members of the Troy squad: Rachel Leggett is close to reaching her 1,000th career point; Zay Dyer leads both conference and national rankings in rebounding categories; Emani Jenkins continues to climb up school records for three-pointers made and shooting percentage; Fortuna Ngnawo averages a double-double alongside Dyer—making Troy unique nationally for having two such players on its roster.
Troy continues to lead Division I teams in total rebounds per game (50.5) and has maintained this status for seven consecutive seasons. The team also tops several other statistical categories within its conference—including assists per game (15.7), free throws made (15.5), rebound margin (+13.8), scoring margin (+15.4), defensive rebounds (32), offensive rebounds (18.5), total rebounds (50.5), and scoring average (84.5).
Other notable achievements include breaking single-game records for points scored (132), three-pointers made (20), and assists (36) during their win over Oakwood earlier this season as well as securing championships at multiple in-season tournaments over each of the past three years.
Troy reached last season’s WNIT Championship game after making it to the tournament’s Fab Four in back-to-back years.
