Troy University Athletics
Troy Travels to Miami for Sun Belt Conference Game
1/8/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
MIAMI, Fla. - The Troy University women's basketball team heads south this week to take on Florida International in a key East Division game in the Sun Belt Conference. The game is set for 5:15 pm (ET) on Wednesday evening.
The game will mark the first time Troy and Florida International have met since the Panthers knocked Troy out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in the first round last season. In that contest, Kylie Morrissy paced the Trojans with 16 points, while Amy Lewis contributed 11. The Trojans were in the midst of a five-game losing streak when the two teams last met in February of 2007.
However, this season, the Trojans head into the meeting on a two-game winning streak after defeating the University of North Texas 73-62 last Thursday night. In that contest, Lewis paced Troy (8-6, 1-2 SBC) with 23 points.
"“I have been doing this 11 years,” head coach Michael Murphy said. “When I was at Alabama we had All-Americans and players that went on to the WNBA. Amy is playing, right now, better than anyone else that I have ever coached in women's basketball. She is has just been nothing but spectacular this entire year.”
Morrissy added 15 points and six rebounds, while senior Audrey Muse added 15 points and seven rebounds. Over the last three games, Muse has averaged 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
“Audrey has really done a good job the last three games,” Murphy said. “She is averaging over 15 points a game, which is huge for us because it gives us an inside post presence.”
Meanwhile, Florida International is coming off a 53-44 victory over in-state and Sun Belt Conference rival Florida Atlantic, in which LaQuetta Ferguson posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jasmine Jenkins added nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds for Florida International (5-9, 1-2 SBC), who never trailed in the contest.
Florida International leads the all-time series with Troy 4-2, and the Trojans will be looking to win their first game in the series since their first meeting as Sun Belt Conference schools, February 18, 2006.
GAME NOTES
GAME FACTS
Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Time: 5:15 p.m. (ET) Site: Miami, FL
Coliseum: Pharmed Arena
Capacity: 5,000
National Rankings (AP/ESPN-USA Today): Troy (NR/NR); FIU (NR/NR)
Television: Visit www.fiusports.com to watch today's game.
Radio: Tonight's game can be heard on WGRP 95.3 FM, as well as 88.1 FM.
Commentators: Play-by-play: Andrew Julian; Color: Bobby Bebber.
Internet: Visit www.fiusports.com for live statistics.
Tickets: Visit www.fiusports.com for ticket information.
Forecast: Partly Cloudy Temps: High 78, Low 68
TROJAN STORYLINES
Troy has recorded back-to-back victories for the third time this season with their 11-point victory over the University of North Texas last Thursday night ... the Trojans will look to win their third consecutive game; matching the longest winning streak of the season that spanned from November 19 until November 24 ... the Trojans look to defeat Florida International for the first time since February 18, 2006.
TROJANS ON THIS DATE
Troy is 3-3 on this date in history ... Troy defeated Georgia Southwestern 80-75 in 1981 on their way to the AIAW State Championship ... the Trojans defeated Judson 78-31 in 1982 and recorded their first victory on this date as a NCAA Division I member, 55-54, over Mercer in 1999 as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference ... the Trojans dropped their first-ever game played on this date against Alabama State, 66-62, in 1978 ... Troy lost to rival Jacksonville State 88-72 in 1988 as members of the Gulf South Conference ... in their second year of competition at the NCAA Division I level, the Trojans fell to Youngstown State 82-65 in Mid-Continent Conference action in 1995 ... this will be the first time the Trojans have played on this date under current coach, Michael Murphy.
INJURY UPDATE
All of the players on the Trojans roster will dress, with the exception of Lucy Lindley.
TROJANS TIDBITS
* Trojan Talk: Catch Trojan Talk every Tuesday night throughout basketball season on WTBF-94.7 FM. Host Barry McKnight will break down the past and future Trojans' games with head coach Michael Murphy at 7 pm, along with in-depth interviews with several Trojans players.
* Number 100: When senior guard Amy Lewis steps onto the floor for tonight's game against Florida International, she will be making her 100th consecutive career start. The senior, from Australia, has started every game in which she has played at Troy since her freshman season.
* Amy Lewis moving up: Lewis scored her 1,377th career point Sunday on the road against Fordham. Although she played one season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Lewis is slowly making her way up the Sun Belt Conference scoring list. Currently she is 287 points shy of cracking the Top 25 all-time.
* In the Cardinal Uniforms: The Trojans have played nine games in the cardinal uniforms this season, and have recorded a 5-4 record in those uniforms.
* In the White Uniforms: The Trojans are 3-2 in the white uniforms, with all four-of-the-five games being played in Trojan Arena.
* Doubleheader Action: This will mark the third time this season that the men and women have played on the same day. The Trojans are 2-0 on those days, defeating Mercer (men-Shorter) and North Texas. The Trojans are also 4-2 in doubleheader days that do not involve the men's basketball team, playing in three tournaments.
* Playing in 5000+ Seat Arenas: The Trojans have played six games in arenas that seat 5,000 spectators or more. They have recorded a 3-3 record in those games.
* Playing in 4000 seats or less: The Trojans have played eight games in arenas, including Trojan Arena, that are 4000-seats or less. In those games, the Trojans are 5-3 this season.
* Lewis Third in the Conference: Senior guard Amy Lewis is currently third in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, trailing on Amber Holt of Middle Tennessee and Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky).
* Charity Stripe: Senior guard Amy Lewis is not the person the opponents want to foul this season. She has connected on 83.7 percent of her free throws, missing just five times. Her season-high is 88.1 percent set during her sophomore season.
* All-Academic Honors Last Season: Troy boasts two players who were named to the Sun Belt All-Academic Team. Senior Myra Farr and sophomore Brittnie Davis earned that honor a season ago.
* Conference Rankings: Troy was picked to finish near the middle of the pack in the East Division of the Sun Belt. As a matter of fact, they were picked to finish in a tie for fourth place with South Alabama.
* 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.
* Ranked in the Nation: The Trojans currently rank in the top 60 in three categories; including a ranking of fourth in three-point field goal percentage. Troy is shooting 40.9 percent, while the nation's leader is Maryland at 45.3 percent. The Trojans are also 44th in three-point field goals made per game at 6.6 (Villanova-6.8) and 59th in assists per game at 15.3 (Connecticut-22.3).
* Individually in the Nation: Senior Amy Lewis ranks in the top 85 in five categories so far this season; 15th in points per game at 19.6 (Amber Holt-Middle Tennessee, 26.3), 85th in field goal percentage at 50.3 (Liz Sherwood-Vandy, 70.9), 65th at free throw percentage at 83.7 (Crystal Jones-Eastern Kentucky, 94.4), 27th in three-point field goal percentage at 43.2 (Andrea Lightfoot-Idaho State, 55.4) and 26th in three-point field goals made per game at 2.7 (Sade Logan-Robert Morris, 3.9).
* Pass It Along: Junior point guard Larelle Roper ranks in the top 60 in two NCAA categories this week; ranking 22nd in assists per game at 5.4 (Claire Faucher-Portland State, 9.6) and 60th in assist-turnover ratio at 1.81 (Susie Powers-Colorado, 3.67).
* 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.
* Feed it to the Post: Senior Audrey Muse has come on strong the last three games in the post, averaging 16 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. Ironically, the Trojans are 2-1 in those games.
* Career-Leader: Junior forward Danielle Realph, last season's best three-point shooter in the Sun Belt Conference, fell to second on the career list for three-point shooting at the school. But after hitting a three-pointer in the victories over Fordham and North Texas, she has since retaken the lead in career three-point shooting (see career list).
* Happy New Year: After going 7-6 during the 2007 portion of their schedule and playing 10 road games compared to three home games, the Trojans will play 16 games during the 2008 portion of the schedule with eight scheduled home games.
* Another Game, Another Double-Digit Effort: Senior Amy Lewis has scored in double figures in 78 of her 99 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. She has scored in double digits in all 13 games this season for the Trojans, including a career-high 29 points against Western Kentucky.
* 1,000-Point Scorers: For just the third time in school history, a pair of teammates will suit up being members of the 1,000-point club for the Trojans. With the addition of Laura Lee Holman to the roster, the Trojans have the last two members of the club with Holman and Lewis on the team at the same time.
