Troy University Athletics
Trojans Lose 68-55 Against Bulldogs
12/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. ?” The Troy University women's basketball team lost in its only home, non-conference game of the season, falling to in-state foe Samford 68-55 on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Laura Lee Holman led the Trojans (2-5) with 12 points. Senior point guard Kerri Fiehrer added 10. Junior forward Alecia Jones grabbed six rebounds for Troy. Samford's Veronica Pike led all scorer's with a career-best 23 points. Pike and Sarah Clement each had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Samford (7-1) dominated on the glass, out rebounding Troy 41-26 in the game.
Troy shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the floor in the game, including a 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) effort from beyond the three-point line. The Trojans connected on 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) of its free-throw attempts. Troy committed just nine turnovers in the game, its fewest number of turnovers this season.
Samford hit 47.2 percent (25-of-53) of its attempts from the floor, including 4-of-8 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Samford finished 14-of-18 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Trojans shot with a hot hand in the first half, hitting 48.1 percent (12-of-27) of its shots. Troy led early on, leading by as many as five in the first 12 minutes of play. Samford took the lead for good when a three by Tish Pilkerton gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 advantage with just over five minutes left in the half. Samford went into the break leading 35-31.
Fiehrer led Troy with eight first-half points, and Pike scored 16 of her points in the first period. Samford hit 50 percent (14-of-28) of its first-half attempts, including a 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) effort from behind the three-point line.
Troy stayed within striking distance for much of the second half. Freshman guard Amy Lewis scored on Troy's first possession of the period to pull the Trojans to within two, but Samford answered with a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to eight. Troy was able to cut the Bulldog lead to five three separate time, but Samford never let Troy get any closer than that.
The Trojan offense cooled in the second half, as they shot just 9-of-30 (30 percent) from the floor, including 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from the three-point line.
Samford, however, continued to shoot well from the floor, hitting 11-of-25 (44 percent) of its second-half shots. The Bulldogs were 2-of-5 (40 percent) from the three-point line, and they connected on 9-of-12 (75 percent) of their second-half free throws.
The Trojans have just two more non-conference games remaining. They play next at Providence on Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. They round out their non-conference schedule at Vanderbilt on Jan. 2.
