Troy University Athletics
Troy Drops Sun Belt Opener to USA
12/19/2007 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
MOBILE, Ala. - Jeanette Tucker paced three players in double figures, leading South Alabama to a 58-48 victory over Troy University in Sun Belt Conference action Wednesday night.
The Trojans struggled throughout the game offensively, connecting on just 19 field goals while committing 21 turnovers.
“We had more turnovers then we had made shots and that is a problem,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “You are not going to win many basketball games when you do that. I have to give credit to South Alabama with their defense, forcing us into some of those turnovers. The vast majority of those turnovers were us trying to make a play before the play had a chance to develop, and us getting in a hurry.
Because of that you have the end result, the 21 turnovers. Every time you turn the ball over that is one less chance to shoot the ball. I was pleased with the way we rebounded the ball.”
Troy went over four minutes in the first half without attempting a field goal, turning the ball over on seven consecutive trips down the floor. During that same time period, South Alabama scored on three consecutive trips down the floor to take an 8-5 lead; a lead they would only relinquish that lead one time for the remainder of the game.
The Trojans fought back in the first half to close the gap to 18-14 with five minutes remaining, but South Alabama (10-1, 1-0 SBC) pulled away by closing the half on a 10-4 run to take a commanding 28-18 lead at the break.
Troy (6-4, 0-1 SBC) came back again in the second half, but South Alabama had an answer for every Trojan run in the final 20 minutes. The Trojans closed the gap to five points with 15:02 remaining in the contest, but South Alabama pushed the lead back to as many as 13 with 7:59 to play.
“We really struggled offensively, especially in the first half with turning the ball over on travel calls that didn't give us any chance to score points,” Murphy said. “We are solely responsible for that, as a team not getting in such a hurry where you don't give yourself an opportunity to shoot. In the second half, I thought we did a much better job with the tempo of our offense and that is reflected in our shooting percentage and also in the the number of people making shots. We just couldn't recover from the first half.”
South Alabama shot 41.8 (23-of-55) percent from the floor and 30 (6-of-20) percent from behind the arc. The Jaguars also shot just 46.2 (6-of-13) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile Troy shot 37.3 (19-of-51) percent from the floor and just 21.7 (5-of-23) percent from behind the arc. The Trojans outrebounded South Alabama 36-30 on the night.
“We also did a good job rebounding the basketball, but then again we just had too many turnovers,” Murphy said. “I was pleased with the way we rebounded the ball.”
South Alabama (10-1, 1-0 SBC) was led by Tucker with 16 points, while Shakira Nettles added 11 points and Patriece Brunner added 10 in the victory.
Troy (6-4, 0-1 SBC) was led by Amy Lewis with 16 points, while Kylie Morrissy added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Laura Lee Holman added seven points and seven rebounds off the bench.
“I was impressed with Laura Lee,” Murphy said. “For somebody who hasn't played in a long time is coming up big. She was by far our best shooter percentage wise from the field tonight. That is a positive, and hopefully we are going to build on that and get her back in the line-up as a starter.”
Troy returns to action Saturday afternoon in conference action against Western Kentucky at Trojan Arena. The game is set to tip at 2 p.m., and is the last home game until January 3 for the Trojans.
