Troy University Athletics
Trojans Withstand Late GWU Rally, Top Bulldogs 61-59
2/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - Despite being held scoreless in the final four minutes of play, the Troy University women's basketball team held off Gardner-Webb 61-59 in Atlantic Sun action on Saturday. The win is Troy's sixth straight and their eighth out of the last nine.
Four Trojans scored in double figures, led by Laura Lee Holman who scored 17 points. Audrey Muse added 13 points for the Trojans, and Amy Lewis and Alecia Jones each added 12. Jones led Troy with eight rebounds, and Kerri Fiehrer finished with 11 assists compared to just one turnover.
The Trojans (10-11, 9-5 A-Sun) shot 55.8 percent (24-of-43) from the floor, including a 40 percent (4-of-10) performance from behind the arc. The Trojans finished 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the free-throw line.
Shameka Smith led all scorers with 21 points. She also led GWU with eight rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from the floor, including 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from three-point range. GWU finished 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from the free-throw line.
Gardner-Webb held a 17-16 lead with 7:59 left in the first half. Troy held the Bulldogs to just one free-throw from then until halftime, finishing the half on a 14-1 run and taking a 30-18 lead into the break.
Lewis led Troy with eight first-half points. Holman added seven. The Trojans shot 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from the floor, 2-of-4 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Troy connected on 6-of-8 (75 percent) first-half free-throw attempts.
Gardner-Webb was led by Smith with eight first-half points. GWU shot 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from the floor in the first half, including 1-of-2 (50 percent) from three-point range. The Bulldogs connected on 3-of-5 (60 percent) of its first-half free throws.
Troy scored the first seven points of the second half to take their largest lead of the game at 37-18 with 17:57 left on the clock. Troy appeared to have the game in the bag when Laurie Tinsley scored on a baseline jump shot to give Troy a 61-46 lead with just 4:12 remaining.
The Bulldogs would not go away, however, as they took advantage of three straight Trojans turnovers, cutting the lead to 61-56 with 1:42 on the clock.
Troy missed four free-throws in the final 1:12, including two on the front end of one-and-ones, but their lead was too much for Gardner-Webb to overcome as they held on for the two-point win.
Both teams got hot in the second half, with Troy and GWU both shooting better than 60 percent in the final 20 minutes. Troy shot 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) from the floor, while the Bulldogs shot 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the field. Troy shot 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from three-point range, and 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from the free-throw line in the second half. Gardner-Webb shot 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from three-point range, and they connected on 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) of their free throws.
The win keeps Troy in third place in the Atlantic Sun standings with six games left to play. The Trojans return to action on Thursday when they play at Jacksonville at 6 p.m.
