Trojans Rally in Second Half, Fall at ULM

Saturday, January 26

Monroe, La.

2:00 p.m.

Troy University

ULM

Photo by: Cass Davis

1/26/2013 4:36:00 PM | Basketball (W)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

MONROE, La. – The Troy women's basketball team erased a 15-point halftime deficit, but couldn't snap an eight-game losing streak in a 79-74 loss at ULM on Saturday.

Troy (3-16, 0-10) made a furious run to start the second half and cut a 15-point halftime deficit down to two with 8:14 to go, but ULM then went on a 10-0 run to retake control.

Joanna Harden led Troy with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting while Ashley Beverly-Kelley recorded and 20 and Sarah McAppion had 10. In the second half, Harden had 14 points and Beverly-Kelley had 13 to spark the Troy run.

“We're very disappointed about our defense in the first half,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “We gave so many points in the first half that we couldn't recover in the second.”

After trailing 48-33 at the half, Troy cut the ULM lead down to 61-59 with 8:14 to go, but Troy didn't score for over three minutes as ULM pulled ahead 71-59 with 5:23 to go. The Trojans held ULM to just eight points over the final five minutes, but it wasn't enough.

ULM (4-15, 2-8) was led by Jasmine Shaw who scored 19 on 8-of-16 shooting while Ashleigh Simmons (17) and Alexar Tugler (10) were also in double figures.

The Warhawks outrebounded Troy 50-34 on the day and posted 21 second-chance points on 18 offensive boards. Troy had just eight offensive rebounds and four second-chance points.

ULM shot 48.7 percent (19-of-39) in the first half while building a 15-point lead, 48-33. Troy shot 40.0 percent (12-of-30) in the opening frame, but forced just eight ULM turnovers.

Turnovers were the key to the second-half run as Troy forced 12 ULM miscues in the second half and the Trojans committed just seven themselves.

Overall, Troy shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) while ULM shot 43.7 percent (31-of-71). The Trojans were 5-of-15 from deep while ULM was 6-of-18. Troy was 15-of-20 at the free throw line while ULM was 11-of-16.

The Trojans return to the floor on Wednesday as they travel to WKU for a 7 p.m. contest.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.