Troy University Athletics
Second-Half Run Lifts Troy to First Road Win
1/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
DENVER - Troy broke a 47-47 tie with 11 straight points, then hung on for its first road victory of the season, 72-65 over Denver Saturday afternoon at Magness Arena. Laura Lee Holman led four Trojans in double figures with 22 points. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Trojans.
Amy Lewis tallied 14 points, while Audrey Muse added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Valensia Hairston scored 11 points for the Trojans (8-10, 2-5). Roper finished with five assists in the win for Troy. Troy held a 41-25 advantage on the boards.
Brooke Meyer led the Pioneers (9-10, 3-5) with 14 points. Hairston scored on Troy's first two possessions to give Troy a quick 4-0 lead. That was the beginning of an 8-0 run by the Trojans through the first four minutes of play. Nnena Akotaobi put Denver on the board with a three at the 15:20 mark.
Laura Lee Holman put Troy back up by eight when she answered with a three for the Trojans. Denver began to chip away at Troy's lead, however, and a free throw from Sara Bents made it a one possession game, 15-13 at 9:41.
Leading 17-15, Troy used a 6-2 run to stretch its lead to 23-17. Denver scored on each of their next three possessions to go on an 8-0 run and take its first lead of the game, 25-23 with 4:19 left in the half.
The Trojans tied the game at 25 on a pair of free throws from Alecia Jones. On DU's next trip, Sarah Benham's layup put the Pioneers back on top, 27-25 with 3:33 left in the half.
The Trojans held the Pioneers scoreless through the rest of the half, and ended the period on a 9-0 run to take a 34-27 lead into the break.
The Trojans maintained a lead in the second half until a three from Jenna Cole tied the game at 47 with 9:46 left to play.
Holman knocked down a three on Troy's next trip down the floor to return the lead to the Trojans. A pair of free throws from Muse put Troy up five, and Valensia Hairston grabbed a DU pass and took it the length of the floor for a layup that gave Troy a 54-47 lead with 7:47 left to play. Troy scored on two of their next three possessions to cap an 11-0 run and take their largest lead of the game, 58-47 with 5:49 remaining.
Denver cut Troy's lead to six, but a Holman three put Troy back up by nine with 3:26 on the clock. Troy held at least a seven-point lead through the rest of the game.
You have to give a lot of credit to the girls,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. They fought through a lot of adversity. Our freshmen played really well for us, especially Larelle Roper at the point. I also think we did a great job rebounding.”
The Trojans return home to host Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday at 7 p.m.
