Troy University Athletics
Troy falls to Jacksonville State
11/28/2007 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Troy University senior guard Amy Lewis tied her career-high with 24 points and ran her consecutive games in double digits streak to 12, but it was not enough as the Trojans fell to Jacksonville State 72-65 in non-conference basketball action Wednesday night.
The loss put an end to the Trojans' three-game winning streak, and five game road trip to open the season.
“This was our fifth straight road game and you could see it,” head coach Michael Murphy said. “We got out to a decent start and couldn't sustain anything. But you have to give credit to Jacksonville State. We couldn't stop them in the post, now was that fatigue from the five road games, I don't know. But there are no excuses.”
Troy took a 44-43 lead early in the second half, but the inside play of Jacksonville State pulled the Gamecocks away to the victory.
The Gamecocks were led in scoring by forward Jolie Efezokhae with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, her fellow forward Cierra Duhart added seven points.
Jacksonville State shot 48.1 (26-of-54) percent from the floor and 33.3 (5-of-15) percent from behind the arc. They also outrebounded Troy 34-32.
Troy shot 42.1 (24-of-57) percent from the floor and just 31.6 (6-of-19) percent from behind the arc.
The two teams traded the lead twice in the first half, with four lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of action. Jacksonville State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, before the Trojans answered with a 18-6 run to take an 18-10 lead. During the run, Lewis led the charge with seven points while junior guard Kylie Morrissy and junior forward Danielle Realph each added five points.
The Gamecocks answered midway through the half with an 8-2 run to take a 23-22 lead with 8:15 remaining in the opening half.
After Jacksonville State (2-4) extended the lead to 31-22 with 5:34 to play, junior point guard Larelle Roper hit a jumper with 5:16 to cut the lead to 31-24 with 5:16 to play. From that point, the Trojans trimmed the lead to 32-31 on a lay-up by Lewis with just 32 seconds remaining. Jacksonville State extended the lead back to three, at 34-31, when Jolie Efezokhae hit a lay-up with just 11 seconds remaining.
Morrissy and Realph were the only players, other than Lewis, in double figures for the Trojans. Morrissy scored 14, while Realph added 11 in the loss.
Troy (3-2) returns to action Friday, November 30 against Belhaven College in their home opener. The game will be broadcast by on WTBF-94.7 FM, with Buddy Johnson providing the play-by-play and Taylor Barbaree providing the color. The pre-game show will start at 6:45 p.m., with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Trojan Arena.
NOTES FROM TONIGHT'S GAME
* Captains for the Trojans are (#14) Amy Lewis and (#15) Audrey Muse.
* Troy has lost the opening top in four of their five games this season, losing the top to Jacksonville State.
* The Trojans' opponents scored the first points of the game for the fourth time in five games this season.
* Junior Kylie Morrissy opened the scoring for the Trojans for the third time this season, scoring Troy's first five points of the game.
The loss put an end to the Trojans' three-game winning streak, and five game road trip to open the season.
“This was our fifth straight road game and you could see it,” head coach Michael Murphy said. “We got out to a decent start and couldn't sustain anything. But you have to give credit to Jacksonville State. We couldn't stop them in the post, now was that fatigue from the five road games, I don't know. But there are no excuses.”
Troy took a 44-43 lead early in the second half, but the inside play of Jacksonville State pulled the Gamecocks away to the victory.
The Gamecocks were led in scoring by forward Jolie Efezokhae with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, her fellow forward Cierra Duhart added seven points.
Jacksonville State shot 48.1 (26-of-54) percent from the floor and 33.3 (5-of-15) percent from behind the arc. They also outrebounded Troy 34-32.
Troy shot 42.1 (24-of-57) percent from the floor and just 31.6 (6-of-19) percent from behind the arc.
The two teams traded the lead twice in the first half, with four lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of action. Jacksonville State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, before the Trojans answered with a 18-6 run to take an 18-10 lead. During the run, Lewis led the charge with seven points while junior guard Kylie Morrissy and junior forward Danielle Realph each added five points.
The Gamecocks answered midway through the half with an 8-2 run to take a 23-22 lead with 8:15 remaining in the opening half.
After Jacksonville State (2-4) extended the lead to 31-22 with 5:34 to play, junior point guard Larelle Roper hit a jumper with 5:16 to cut the lead to 31-24 with 5:16 to play. From that point, the Trojans trimmed the lead to 32-31 on a lay-up by Lewis with just 32 seconds remaining. Jacksonville State extended the lead back to three, at 34-31, when Jolie Efezokhae hit a lay-up with just 11 seconds remaining.
Morrissy and Realph were the only players, other than Lewis, in double figures for the Trojans. Morrissy scored 14, while Realph added 11 in the loss.
Troy (3-2) returns to action Friday, November 30 against Belhaven College in their home opener. The game will be broadcast by on WTBF-94.7 FM, with Buddy Johnson providing the play-by-play and Taylor Barbaree providing the color. The pre-game show will start at 6:45 p.m., with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Trojan Arena.
NOTES FROM TONIGHT'S GAME
* Captains for the Trojans are (#14) Amy Lewis and (#15) Audrey Muse.
* Troy has lost the opening top in four of their five games this season, losing the top to Jacksonville State.
* The Trojans' opponents scored the first points of the game for the fourth time in five games this season.
* Junior Kylie Morrissy opened the scoring for the Trojans for the third time this season, scoring Troy's first five points of the game.
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