Troy University Athletics
Women's Basketball Holds Off Birmingham-Southern, 67-64
11/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. -- Troy scored the first seven points of the second half to overcome a sluggish first 20 minutes and then fought off two serious challenges in a 67-64 victory over Birmingham-Southern Tuesday night at Trojan Arena.
For the third straight game the Trojans (3-0) had four players score in double figures, led by freshman Danielle Realph who came off the bench to score 12 points. Audrey Muse added 11 points and nine rebounds, and Amy Lewis and Brandi Scott added 10 points apiece.
Pam Thornborrow led the Panthers (1-3) with 22 points, 18 scored in the second half. Britni Ballard and Reba Ross each added 13 points for BSC.
The Trojans, off to their best start at 3-0 since winning six straight to open the 1991-92 campaign, fell behind 17-6 in the game's first seven minutes. Trailing 19-10, Troy scored eight straight points to close to within one by the four-minute mark. The teams went to the locker room tied at 24 after Amy Lewis hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left.
Troy stormed out of the gates to score the first seven points of the second period, taking a 31-24 lead two minutes into the half. The seven-point rally capped a 23-5 run by the Trojans that spanned both halves.
BSC answered right away, scoring the next five points and making it a two-point game at 31-29 with 15 minutes on the clock. Kylie Morrissy hit a three to bring it back to a two-possession game, but a layup by Reba Ross cut Troy's lead to 34-31 with 12:21 remaining.
Troy outscored the Panthers 12-4 over the next three minutes to build an 11-point advantage with 9:30 left to play. The run was propelled by two threes and a layup by Lewis as she scored eight of her 10 points during that span.
The Trojans lead hovered around 10 points for the next eight minutes, and a jump shot by Laura Lee Holman gave the Trojans a 66-55 lead with just 1:13 remaining. BSC cut the lead to single digits on a layup by Stacey Anthony with 57 seconds left to play. Thornborrow came up with a steal on Troy's next possession, and she quickly scored to cut BSC's deficit to seven with 38 seconds remaining.
Another Trojan turnover gave the ball back to BSC with 35 seconds left. Ross was fouled and sent to the line, where she hit her first attempt to cut Troy's lead to six with 33 seconds left. She missed the second, but BSC retained possession, and Thornborrow made a layup to cut Troy's lead to 66-62 with 30 seconds on the clock.
After Troy got the ball in bounds, the Panthers elected to send Brandi Scott to the line. The junior hit the first but missed the second free throw, extending Troy's lead to 67-62 with 20 seconds to play. A layup by Ballard made it a one-possession game with just seven seconds left to play.
The Trojans inbounded the ball to Holman, and the junior was whistled for a charge as she tried to make a cross-court pass with three-seconds remaining. BSC got the ball to Thornborrow, whose potentially game-tying three hit the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
You have to hand it to Birmingham-Southern,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. We were up 11 with just over a minute left, and they didn't quit. But, at the same time, I'm proud of this team. We're finding ways to win. We had balanced scoring again in this game, and we had some great play from our bench.”
Troy's bench combined for 31 points in the game, led by Realph and Scott. Morrissy added nine points off the bench for the Trojans.
The teams were fairly even from the floor, with Troy shooting 25-of-54 (46.3 percent) and BSC shooting 24-of-53 (45.3 percent). Both teams shot 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from behind the arc, and both teams attempted 15 free throws, with Troy converting 12 and BSC making 11.
The Panthers held the advantage on the boards, grabbing 33 to the Trojans' 30. The Trojans committed 17 turnovers, while the Panthers turned the ball over 21 times. Both teams collected 10 steals. Troy came up with four blocked shots, led by Alecia Jones who had three.
The Trojans return to action on Friday when they play Samford in their first road game of the season.
