Troy University Athletics
Trojans come up short against UT-Pan American
12/15/2007 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A second half comeback by Troy University fell short, as the Trojans fell 59-55 to UT-Pan American in the opening game of the Flint Hills Resources Islander Invitational Saturday night.
After trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Trojans used 21 second half points by senior guard Amy Lewis to cut the deficit to as close to four before falling on the road.
UT-Pan American took a 50-34 lead with 7:01 remaining on a Rose Esther Jean 8-foot jump shot, before the Trojans answered with a three-pointer by Lewis to trim the lead to 50-37. The three-pointer by Lewis propelled the Trojans on an 18-9 run to finish the game.
“We didn't quit and we fought to the end,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “But when you look at the shots we missed and the shots they made, the team that won the game deserved to win the game. All you can do is play to give yourself quality shots and we got a lot of quality shots, we just didn't make a lot of them. And to their credit they did, they were pretty consistent the whole game.”
Despite trailing for most of the game, Troy had their chances late in the game when UT-Pan American turned the all over three times with under 90 seconds to play but were unable to convert on the Lady Broncs mistakes.
The Trojans struggled throughout the first half against the UT-Pan American zone, shooting only 24.1 (7-of-29) percent from the floor and just 18.2 (2-of-11) percent from behind the arc. Junior forward Danielle Realph came off the bench for the Trojans scoring seven points in 12 minutes of action in the first half, as the two leading scorers (Lewis and Kylie Morrissy) were held to eight point combined.
After jumping out to a 6-4 lead early in the contest, the Trojans were on the short end of a 12-2 UT-Pan American lead that propelled the Lady Broncs to a 16-8 lead with 11:45 remaining in the first half. Troy got back into the game with mini-runs throughout the half, and had a chance to trim the first half lead to four on the final chance of the half when Alyce Shearing's put back was short; leaving the Trojans trailing 26-20 at the intermission.
“We simply did not shoot the ball well enough to win the basketball game,” Murphy said. “We shot 24 percent in the first, and although we shot the ball well in the second half, we didn't counteract our poor shooting in the first half by playing well against them defensively.”
The Trojans shot 36.5 (19-of-52) percent from the floor for the game, including shooting 52.2 (12-of-23) percent in the second half. They also shot 33.3 (7-of-21) percent from behind the arc, while shooting 50 (5-of-10) percent in the second half. The Trojans also shot 76.9 (10-of-13) percent from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, UT-Pan American shot 51.1 (24-of-47) percent from the floor, and 40 (8-of-20) percent from behind the arc.
Lewis' points came on a 7-of-18 shooting night from behind the floor, while Morrissy finished the game with 11 points and nine rebounds. Brittnie Davis also added nine points in the loss.
LaKeisha Gray led UT-Pan American with 19 points, while Jean added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Tiona Wilson added 10.
Troy (5-3) play the loser of the Alcorn State-Texas A&M Corpus Christi game Sunday at 5 p.m. in the consolation game.
After trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Trojans used 21 second half points by senior guard Amy Lewis to cut the deficit to as close to four before falling on the road.
UT-Pan American took a 50-34 lead with 7:01 remaining on a Rose Esther Jean 8-foot jump shot, before the Trojans answered with a three-pointer by Lewis to trim the lead to 50-37. The three-pointer by Lewis propelled the Trojans on an 18-9 run to finish the game.
“We didn't quit and we fought to the end,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “But when you look at the shots we missed and the shots they made, the team that won the game deserved to win the game. All you can do is play to give yourself quality shots and we got a lot of quality shots, we just didn't make a lot of them. And to their credit they did, they were pretty consistent the whole game.”
Despite trailing for most of the game, Troy had their chances late in the game when UT-Pan American turned the all over three times with under 90 seconds to play but were unable to convert on the Lady Broncs mistakes.
The Trojans struggled throughout the first half against the UT-Pan American zone, shooting only 24.1 (7-of-29) percent from the floor and just 18.2 (2-of-11) percent from behind the arc. Junior forward Danielle Realph came off the bench for the Trojans scoring seven points in 12 minutes of action in the first half, as the two leading scorers (Lewis and Kylie Morrissy) were held to eight point combined.
After jumping out to a 6-4 lead early in the contest, the Trojans were on the short end of a 12-2 UT-Pan American lead that propelled the Lady Broncs to a 16-8 lead with 11:45 remaining in the first half. Troy got back into the game with mini-runs throughout the half, and had a chance to trim the first half lead to four on the final chance of the half when Alyce Shearing's put back was short; leaving the Trojans trailing 26-20 at the intermission.
“We simply did not shoot the ball well enough to win the basketball game,” Murphy said. “We shot 24 percent in the first, and although we shot the ball well in the second half, we didn't counteract our poor shooting in the first half by playing well against them defensively.”
The Trojans shot 36.5 (19-of-52) percent from the floor for the game, including shooting 52.2 (12-of-23) percent in the second half. They also shot 33.3 (7-of-21) percent from behind the arc, while shooting 50 (5-of-10) percent in the second half. The Trojans also shot 76.9 (10-of-13) percent from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, UT-Pan American shot 51.1 (24-of-47) percent from the floor, and 40 (8-of-20) percent from behind the arc.
Lewis' points came on a 7-of-18 shooting night from behind the floor, while Morrissy finished the game with 11 points and nine rebounds. Brittnie Davis also added nine points in the loss.
LaKeisha Gray led UT-Pan American with 19 points, while Jean added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Tiona Wilson added 10.
Troy (5-3) play the loser of the Alcorn State-Texas A&M Corpus Christi game Sunday at 5 p.m. in the consolation game.
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