Troy University Athletics
Trojans gear up for season opener
11/13/2007 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - The Troy women's basketball team opens their season against Auburn University on the road Wednesday, November 14. The game will mark the first of five consecutive road games to open the season for Troy.
The Trojans last met Auburn (1-0) on November 22, 2002 - Michael Murphy's first season at the helm of the Trojans. The Trojans return four starters from last season's team, including their top two leading scorers in Amy Lewis and Kylie Morrissy, Lewis was named a Preseason Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection this season, while Morrissy was named a Third-Team selection at the end of the season last year. The other two starters that return are guard Larelle Roper and forward Danille Realph. Troy also returns a starter from 2005-06 in senior Audrey Muse, who missed the entire season in 2006-07 but has returned to finish her college career.
Meanwhile, Auburn defeated Detroit-Mercy 91-47 on Sunday afternoon behind DeWanna Bonner, Trevesa Jackson and Tamela McCorvey. Bonner (16 points and 10 rebounds) and Jackson (10 points and 10 rebounds) posted double-doubles, while McCorvey led the Tigers with 18 points.
"We are excited to get the season underway," Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. "We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us to open with an SEC team and a team the caliber of Auburn."
The game can be heard on 96.7 in the Auburn-Opelika area, and live stats will be available through www.auburntigers.com.
Game Facts:
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007
Time: 6 p.m. (CT) Site: Auburn, Ala.
Coliseum: Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum; opened in 1969
Capacity: 10,500
National Rankings (AP/ESPN-USA Today): Troy (NR/NR), Auburn (RV/RV)
Television: Wednesday's game will not be televised live.
Radio: Wednesday's game can be heard on 96.7 FM.
Announcers: Play-by-Play: Andy Burcham; Color: Arnika Clements.
Internet: Live audio and live stats will be available on www.AuburnTigers.com.
Tickets: Visit www.AuburnTigers.com for information.
Forecast: Showers Possible
Temps: High 69, Low 48
Trojans Storylines:
Troy is currently 1-4 in season openers under sixth-year head coach Michael Murphy, winning 68-61 over Austin Peay on November 18, 2005 ... Troy is 14-18 in 32 season openers all-time ... 2007 marks the seventh time Troy has faced a team from the Southeastern Conference in a season-opener ... Troy is 1-6 against teams from the Southeastern Conference in season openers, defeating Mississippi State University November 18, 1997, 72-69 ... Murphy is 0-2 against Southeastern Conference schools in season openers, losing to Auburn University November 22, 2002 and Mississippi State University last season ... Under Murphy, the Trojans have opened the season on the road four of five seasons ... The lone win in a season opener at home came against Austin Peay on November 18, 2005 ... Troy was 0-2 last season against teams that were nationally ranked or receiving votes ... Troy returns 11 letterwinners from a team that finished 12-17 in just its second season of competition in the Sun Belt Conference, finishing with a league mark of 5-13 in the tough East Division ... The Trojans fell to Florida International in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on the road ... Troy will begin the season with five Australians in their starting line-up; including one senior (Amy Lewis), three juniors (Larelle Roper, Kylie Morrissy and Danielle Realph) and one sophomore (Alyce Shearing) ... Of the 11 letterwinners returning for the Trojans, only 10 played last season, as Audrey Muse returns after sitting out last season.
Trojans Notebook:
* The Troy roster includes more players from Australia than any other team in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans will suit up five players from Australia.
* Troy coach Michael Murphy has a 28-1 record in his career at Troy in games in which the Trojans score 70 or more points. In games in which they score less than 70 points, Murphy has posted a 34-77 record.
* Audrey Muse returns to the Trojans after sitting out the 2006-07 season due to a medical redshirt. Muse, a starter before sitting out, averaged 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a junior in 2005-06.
* Zena Lawrence represented her country this summer, by playing for the national team from the Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, senior Amy Lewis made it to the final rounds of cuts for the Australian national team.
* Walk-ons are the life-blood of any athletic program and Troy coach Michael Murphy will look to one this season to fill voids and help with depth at the guard position. Brittnie Davis, a Montgomery-native, will add minutes to the backcourt and allow for the starters to get a breather during games this season.
* Troy assistant coach Theresa Gernatt returns to the bench in the college game for the first time in two years. She is widely-known as the associate head coach at Florida State University from 2002-04, where she fielded a top 10 recruiting class, assisted in being the only team to defeat Duke University in 2003 and sweeping Clemson for the first time in the school's history.
* Senior Audrey Muse (23) will celebrate her birthday the day following the Auburn game, November 15, while fellow senior Myra Farr (24) will celebrate her birthday November 25. There are no other birthdays for the remainder of the month of November on the Trojans squad.
Career Notebook:
* Senior Amy Lewis scored her 1,000th career point last season and needs just 39 points to move past Samantha Tomlinson into 10th place on the all-time list. She is also just 54 points behind Heather Haney for ninth on the all-time list at Troy.
* Lewis is just 42 minutes away from logging 3000 minutes on the floor for the Trojans during her playing career. She has averaged 34.8 minutes per game over her three-year career.
* Lewis needs 72 field goals to give her 500 for her career, and just 20 attempts to give her 1000 for her career.
* Lewis needs 19 rebounds to break the 400-rebound mark for her career, and just 18 assists to give her 200 for her career.
* Senior Audrey Muse needs 39 field goals to give 300 for her career, and just 43 field goal attempts to give her 700.
* Muse needs 56 rebounds to give her 500 rebounds for her Trojan career.
* Junior Larelle Roper needs 35 assists to give her 200 assists for her career.
* Junior Kylie Morrissy needs 397 points to give her 1000 points for her career.
* Morrissy needs 79 field goals to give her 300 for her career, and just 19 attempts to give her 500 for her career.
* Morrissy needs 30 rebounds to give her 300 for her career, entering her junior season.
* Head coach Michael Murphy needs three wins to give him 65 for his career.
Team Notebook:
* Turnovers, Part I: Since the Trojans started competing in the Sun Belt Conference, they have struggled in the turnover department. Through 56 games, the Trojans have turned the ball over 976 times to their opponents 861 times.
* Turnovers, Part II: On the other hand, Troy has recorded 730 assists to their opponents 718 over that same period.
* Over 70, the Magic Number: Troy has recorded a 28-1 record when recording over 70 points in a single-game under current head coach Michael Murphy. In all other games in which they are below 70 points, the Trojans have recorded a 34-77 record under Murphy. The lone loss for the Trojans in which they scored 70 points in a game came against Eastern Kentucky on December 21, 2002 (Murphy's first season), when the Trojans dropped an 82-71 decision.
* Numbers: Several Trojans underwent number changes during the offseason this year. Those changes include: G Brittnie Davis (22 to 3), F/C Alyce Shearing (21 to 12) and F Zena Lawrence (41 to 23).
* Dearly Departed: The Trojans parted ways with seniors Brandi Scott, Laura Lee Holman and Valensia Hairston at the conclusion of the season. All of the underclassmen who were scheduled to come back to the Trojans all arrived on campus as expected in the fall semester.
* Back In Action: Only one player missed last season due to injury, and she is back in uniform this season for the Trojans. Senior Audrey Muse for her final season in a Trojan uniform after missing the entire season in 2006-07.
* JUCO Route: The Troy roster includes only one player from the junior college ranks this season. Senior forward Zena Lawrence is in her second season of competition for the Trojans after playing two seasons at St. Catharine College.
* Around The Nation: The current Troy roster, which includes 14 players, is very heavily loaded with foreign players. The roster includes five players from Australia and one from the Virgin Islands. The remainder of the roster includes four players from the state of Alabama, one from Florida, one from Mississippi, one from Connecticut and one from New Jersey.
* Ranked Foes: The Trojans have faced a nationally-ranked opponent three times under Murphy since 2002. Troy has lost all three contests, one to the University of Louisville (73-55 on December 28, 2002) and twice to Sun Belt Conference foe, Middle Tennessee State last season.
* Ranked Foes, Part II: Speaking of ranked opponents, the Trojans narrowly lost a 68-60 decision to Middle Tennessee on February 22 in Troy. The eight-point deficit was the second-smallest margin of victory for then 17th-ranked Middle Tennessee during their 27-game winning streak. The smallest ... a seven-point decision against Florida International on February 15.
* Ranked Foes, Part III: Each time that Troy and Middle Tennessee hooked up last season, the Blue Raiders were ranked. The first time, they were ranked 25th, while the second time they played each other, they were at their second-highest rating of the season at 17th in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
* Against the SEC: Troy stands 6-43 all-time against the Southeastern Conference. In addition to Auburn (2-18), the wins have come against Alabama (1-13), Mississippi State (2-10) and the University of Florida (1-0). The Trojans have also competed against Vanderbilt and are winless in two tries.
* Early Accolades: Senior Amy Lewis has been named a Second Team Preseason Sun Belt All-Conference selection by a vote of the conference's coaches. Lewis, not chosen last season for the All-Conference Team, was the only Trojan selected to the team.
* Outside the League: Troy posted a 7-4 record outside conference play last season, including a 2-3 record in road contests. Discounting the conference tournament play and two games against NAIA foes, the Trojans were 5-4 in games against NCAA Division I-A non-league opponents. Troy faced only one SEC team a year ago, losing 74-43 at Mississippi State.
* Tournament Play: The Trojans will play in three tournaments this season during the regular season, beginning with the Tulsa Holiday Tournament over the Thanksgiving holidays. They will also play in Corpus Christi, Texas in the Flint Hills Islander Invitational, December 15 and 16. The Trojans will wrap up tournament play in New York, playing in the Fordham Holiday Tournament December 29 and 30.
* First Out of the Box: Tonight's game will be first for the Trojans this season. While most Division I-A teams schedule at least one exhibition contest against a lower-division foe, Trojans head coach Michael Murphy went a different route. The Trojans held joint practice sessions with Spring Hill College (October 28) and Alabama State University (November 4). Three 20-minute scrimmages, plus assorted drills, took place throughout the day. Because NCAA rules prohibit publicizing such practices, statistics were not kept.
* Same City, Different School: Sophomores Lucy Lindley and Staci Mitchell are from the same city, but are from different high schools. Lindley attended Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, while Mitchell attended Parkway Christian.
* Sitting at 64: Senior Amy Lewis has scored in double figures in 64 of her 85 career games at Troy University. She scored in double figures 25 times last season as a junior, 23 as a freshman and suffered through a sophomore slump, only scoring in double figures on 16 occassions.
* By the Numbers: The Troy University women's basketball team will travel 2,593 miles roundtrip before they play their first home game at Trojan Arena, on November 30.
* Scouting Report: The 2007-08 team includes all five of its core starters from a year ago that helped lead Auburn to a 21-13 record and a trip to the “Elite Eight” of the Women's NIT. Auburn returns 94.2 percent of its points, 98.4 percent of its rebounds, 96.3 percent of its assists and 97.4 percent of its blocks from last season with the return of 11 letterwinners. Leading scorer and rebounder and preseason First Team All-SEC selection DeWanna Bonner highlights the returners. The Tigers starting lineup also features assist leader Whitney Boddie (4.8 apg), SEC All-Freshman Team member Jordan Greenleaf, second-leading scorer Sherell Hobbs (11.4 ppg) and third-leading scorer Tamela McCorvey (9.1 ppg). The Tigers easily won their exhibition opener against Carson-Newman, 94-52, last week. Bonner led the Tigers with 21 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to open the 2007-08 season at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
