Troy University Athletics
Morrissy's last-second shot lifts Trojans to victory
11/19/2007 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
KENNESAW, Ga. - Troy's Michael Murphy had one timeout left, and his team just rebounded the ball with six seconds remaining. Instead of calling the timeout, Murphy waved his crew up the court and junior Kylie Morrissy responded.
The junior drove the length of the court for the game-winning lay-up with just nine-tenths of a second remaining on the clock, giving the Trojans a 58-57 victory.
“When I caught the ball I didn't know there were just a few seconds left,” Morrissy said. “When I realized it, I just thought ?okay basket.' I really didn't think of anything else.”
Morrissy's game-winning shot would not have been possible if not for the comeback that the Trojans produced in the second half, starting with the opening whistle.
“Kylie put this team on her back in the second half,” Murphy said. “This was an extremely hard-fought game for both teams.”
The Trojans opened the second half by hitting four of their first five shots, including a three-pointer, and forcing five consecutive Kennesaw State (2-2) turnovers to trim the lead to 37-32 in the first five minutes of the second half.
After Troy (1-1) opened the second half on an 11-4 run to trim the deficit to five, Kennesaw State rolled off an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 13 points (45-32). Troy's Morrissy drained a three-pointer with 12:34 remaining in the game to trim the deficit to 45-35, and end the Owls' run. Morrissy answered with an eight-footer two minutes later, getting the lead under double-digits at 45-37.
The Trojans kept clawing their way back into the game as time dwindled off the clock, when Amy Lewis hit a three-pointer after Troy beat the Owls' pressure to trim the lead to 45-40 with 10:13 remaining in the contest. After a Kennesaw State basket pushed the lead back to seven, Audrey Muse attacked the basket and drew a foul. She went to the line, and with nine minutes remaining, trimmed the lead to 47-42 and put the Trojans in the bonus.
Larelle Roper continued the comeback for the Trojans with two free throws, trimming the lead to 47-44 with 8:29 remaining in the contest. The lead would stay at three as the two teams traded baskets, until Muse hit on one-of-two free throws to trim the lead ot 51-49 with 5:18 to go in the contest - the closest the Trojans had been to the lead in 28 minutes.
After Morrissy hit on one-of-two free throws, Muse grabbed an offensive rebound and trimmed the lead to 52-51 with 3:44 remaining. She again inserted herself offensively, drawing another foul with 3:05 to play and tied the game at 52-52.
Troy battled back from a 12-point deficit after shooting just 33.3 (8-of-24) percent from the floor, and turning the ball over 15 times. Conversely, Kennesaw State shot 41.9 (13-of-31) percent from the floor in the opening half and outrebounded Troy 22-14.
“To say we didn't play well in the first half would be an understatement,” Murphy said.
After an Alyce Shearing lay-up gave Troy an 8-7 lead, Kennesaw State went on a 14-2 run to take a 21-10 lead with 7:32 remaining in the first half. The Trojans put an end to the run when Kennesaw State's Gia Lockett was called for an intentional foul on a Troy fastbreak. The Trojans' Lewis promptly stepped to the line and drained both free throws, trimming the lead to 21-12 with 4:22 remaining in the first half.
Danielle Realph trimmed the lead even further when she banked home a three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 3:11 remaining in the half, pulling the Trojans to within six at 21-15. The two teams traded baskets over the next minute, before Kennesaw State scored five unanswered points and led at halftime 33-21.
Troy shot 44.4 (20-of-45) percent from the floor and 45.5 (13-of-20) percent from behind the arc in the victory. Kennesaw State shot 42.3 (22-of-52) percent from the floor and just 22.2 (2-of-9) percent from behind the arc.
Morrissy led Troy with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Lewis added 17 in the victory.
Greteya Kelley led the Owls with 14 points.
Troy returns to action Friday at the Holiday Inn Select Thanksgiving Tournament against Western Illinois. Tip-off is set for 1 pm at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The junior drove the length of the court for the game-winning lay-up with just nine-tenths of a second remaining on the clock, giving the Trojans a 58-57 victory.
“When I caught the ball I didn't know there were just a few seconds left,” Morrissy said. “When I realized it, I just thought ?okay basket.' I really didn't think of anything else.”
Morrissy's game-winning shot would not have been possible if not for the comeback that the Trojans produced in the second half, starting with the opening whistle.
“Kylie put this team on her back in the second half,” Murphy said. “This was an extremely hard-fought game for both teams.”
The Trojans opened the second half by hitting four of their first five shots, including a three-pointer, and forcing five consecutive Kennesaw State (2-2) turnovers to trim the lead to 37-32 in the first five minutes of the second half.
After Troy (1-1) opened the second half on an 11-4 run to trim the deficit to five, Kennesaw State rolled off an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 13 points (45-32). Troy's Morrissy drained a three-pointer with 12:34 remaining in the game to trim the deficit to 45-35, and end the Owls' run. Morrissy answered with an eight-footer two minutes later, getting the lead under double-digits at 45-37.
The Trojans kept clawing their way back into the game as time dwindled off the clock, when Amy Lewis hit a three-pointer after Troy beat the Owls' pressure to trim the lead to 45-40 with 10:13 remaining in the contest. After a Kennesaw State basket pushed the lead back to seven, Audrey Muse attacked the basket and drew a foul. She went to the line, and with nine minutes remaining, trimmed the lead to 47-42 and put the Trojans in the bonus.
Larelle Roper continued the comeback for the Trojans with two free throws, trimming the lead to 47-44 with 8:29 remaining in the contest. The lead would stay at three as the two teams traded baskets, until Muse hit on one-of-two free throws to trim the lead ot 51-49 with 5:18 to go in the contest - the closest the Trojans had been to the lead in 28 minutes.
After Morrissy hit on one-of-two free throws, Muse grabbed an offensive rebound and trimmed the lead to 52-51 with 3:44 remaining. She again inserted herself offensively, drawing another foul with 3:05 to play and tied the game at 52-52.
Troy battled back from a 12-point deficit after shooting just 33.3 (8-of-24) percent from the floor, and turning the ball over 15 times. Conversely, Kennesaw State shot 41.9 (13-of-31) percent from the floor in the opening half and outrebounded Troy 22-14.
“To say we didn't play well in the first half would be an understatement,” Murphy said.
After an Alyce Shearing lay-up gave Troy an 8-7 lead, Kennesaw State went on a 14-2 run to take a 21-10 lead with 7:32 remaining in the first half. The Trojans put an end to the run when Kennesaw State's Gia Lockett was called for an intentional foul on a Troy fastbreak. The Trojans' Lewis promptly stepped to the line and drained both free throws, trimming the lead to 21-12 with 4:22 remaining in the first half.
Danielle Realph trimmed the lead even further when she banked home a three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 3:11 remaining in the half, pulling the Trojans to within six at 21-15. The two teams traded baskets over the next minute, before Kennesaw State scored five unanswered points and led at halftime 33-21.
Troy shot 44.4 (20-of-45) percent from the floor and 45.5 (13-of-20) percent from behind the arc in the victory. Kennesaw State shot 42.3 (22-of-52) percent from the floor and just 22.2 (2-of-9) percent from behind the arc.
Morrissy led Troy with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Lewis added 17 in the victory.
Greteya Kelley led the Owls with 14 points.
Troy returns to action Friday at the Holiday Inn Select Thanksgiving Tournament against Western Illinois. Tip-off is set for 1 pm at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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