Troy University’s women’s basketball team secured a decisive 96-69 win over Georgia State on Saturday at Trojan Arena, rebounding from a previous loss earlier in the week. The Trojans improved their record to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Georgia State fell to 9-12 and 4-5 in the conference.
The victory marked Troy’s 16th win in their last 21 meetings with Georgia State. The Trojans shot an even 50 percent from the field for the sixth time this season and remain undefeated when reaching that mark.
Zay Dyer led Troy against her former team, recording her 12th double-double just three minutes into the second quarter. She finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Rachel Leggett contributed her first career double-double as a Trojan, tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds while making all six of her field goal attempts. Ashley Baez added ten points, Fortuna Ngnawo scored fourteen, and Emani Jenkins came off the bench to hit four three-pointers for twelve points.
Georgia State was led by Crystal Henderson’s seventeen points, but she converted only six of sixteen shots. Nari Powers and Eghosa Obasuyi each scored eleven off the bench for the Panthers. Troy dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Georgia State by a margin of sixty-three to twenty-six, including twenty-five offensive rebounds that led to forty-four points in the paint.
Troy opened strong with a quick six-point run in less than two minutes and maintained control throughout most of the game. After ending the first quarter ahead by one point (24-23), they held Georgia State scoreless for over three minutes early in the second quarter while extending their lead with an eleven-point run.
By halftime, Troy had built a double-digit advantage that grew to thirty-one points by the end of the third quarter. The Trojans finished outscoring Georgia State thirty-five to fifteen during that period before closing out with a comfortable win.
Head coach Chanda Rigby commented on her team’s response after Thursday’s defeat: “The way you rebound and have a good game after a loss is by being focused on the things you’re supposed to be good at. The three things we are good at are rebounds, runs, and forcing turnovers. They stayed locked in on defense; I give credit to Coach Stephanie Murphy, who is our defensive coach. She never gives them a play off, and she calls them out in practice when they aren’t locked in. I know one of the most important things, other than rebounding, is that your bench has to continue to improve all year. By the end of the year, your bench needs to be the most improved in the Sun Belt to win it. Marshall is going to be a tough game; if you drop that game, you could drop to sixth. To get to 500 would be great, especially for this game.”
Additional notes from Saturday’s contest include Kamesha Moore making her first career start for Troy; she played sixteen minutes with three points and three rebounds as part of just Troy’s third different starting lineup this season.
Coach Rigby now stands one win away from achieving her five-hundredth career victory as head coach.
Next up for Troy is an away matchup against Marshall University on Wednesday, January 28.
