Troy University Athletics
Troy Falls to Richmond in Tournament
11/28/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Despite a third consecutive double-double from Donette McNair, the Troy Trojans fell to Richmond 53-48 in the opening game of the Doubletree Classic, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
"This was a great college basketball game," Troy coach Michael Murphy said. "We played exceptionally well in the contest, and I am pleased with our half-court defense throughout. If we just made a few more shots, we could have beaten a very athletic team that is picked to finish near the top of the A-10."
McNair led the Trojans with 15 points and 12 rebounds, her third double-double in as many career starts. Senior Kylie Morrissy chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds, while also adding three assists.
Brittani Shells paced three Spiders in double figures with 19 points, while Johanna McKnight came off the bench to add 12 and Danielle Bell 11 in the victory.
After coming out of the locker room tied, Richmond went on a 15-6 run to jump to a 38-29 lead with 10:06 remaining in the contest.
Troy (2-2) was able to fight back, climbing within five points at 46-41 with 1:36 remaining in the contest. The Trojans used baskets by Larelle Roper, McNair, Morrissy and a 3-pointer by Kirsten Smith to trim the deficit to five. Once the Trojans pulled to within the deficit, Richmond was able to knock down 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch for the victory.
Troy finished the night shooting 30.2 (13-of-43) percent from the floor, 22.2 (2-of-9) percent from beyond the arc and 60.6 (20-of-33) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Richmond finished the night shooting 32.0 (16-of-50) percent from the floor, 30.4 (7-of-23) percent from beyond the arc and just 56 (14-of-25) percent from the free throw line.
"They are extremely well-coached," Murphy said. "Neither team shot well, but as far as effort and energy this was a great college basketball game."
Troy found themselves in a hole early, 14-9, after Rachael Bilney converted on only one of the technical foul shots. The Trojans trimmed the deficit to 14-11 on a lay-up by Morrissy, before McNair scored four consecutive points to tie the game at 14-all.
After knotting the score, the Trojans were able to push their lead to as many as five (19-14) with McNair converting another basket to end a 10-0 Troy run over a six-minute span late in the first half. Richmond was able to come back and tie the game at 20-all, with the two teams trading baskets until the two teams were tied 23-all at the break.
McNair narrowly missed her third consecutive double-double in the opening 20 minutes with eight points and seven rebounds. Defensively, Troy was stellar in the first half, holding Richmond to just 29.6 (8-for-27) percent from the floor and 23.1 (3-of-13) percent from beyond the arc.
The Trojans return to action Saturday afternoon against either Akron or the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. If Akron loses, the Trojans will play at 3 pm (EST), however, if UTC loses they will play at 5 pm (EST), regardless, at The McKenzie Arena.
