DENVER ? The Troy University Trojans had two chances to tie the game or take the lead against the University of Denver but were unable to do so, eventually falling 77-76 at Magness Arena in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday night.
In the overtime period, the Pioneers took a 77-74 lead with just 27 seconds remaining on a pair of Brooke Meyer free throws. After a missed lay-up by Kylie Morrissy, the Trojans were able to secure the offensive rebound and call a timeout.
Following the timeout, the Trojans went to Morrissy for a driving basket to trim the lead to 77-76 with just 9.8 seconds remaining in the half.
Troy (10-13, 3-9 SBC) went for the steal on the inbounds play, but came up short leaving Larelle Roper to have to foul Denver's Celena Otero with 8.7 seconds remaining.
Otero missed both free throws, and Troy's Danielle Realph secured the defensive rebound for the Trojans with no timeouts. She gave an outlet pass to Roper who quickly pushed the ball ahead to Amy Lewis. The senior guard drove to the basket uncontested, pulling up for a running jumper. The shot was no good, but Lewis was able to pull down the rebound and get another shot off before the buzzer.
Troy had their chances throughout the second half. They missed a free throw with 26 seconds remaining that would have pushed the lead to three, and following a lay-up by Denver's Alisha Godette missed another lay-up with just two seconds remaining on the clock ? sending the game into overtime.
“This is a disappointing loss,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “We had our chances in regulation with Amy at the free throw that would have put us up by four, we had our chances with the last possession going to the basket with Morrissy, and then had our chance in overtime with Lewis going to the basket and getting the second shot. We just came up a little short.”
However, the Trojans came out firing on all cylinders in the first half. Less than a week after struggling from behind the arc against the University of New Orleans, the Trojans were firing on all cylinders in the opening 20 minutes against the Pioneers.
Troy connected on 50 (6-of-12) percent of their three-point shots in the opening stanza, enabling them to open a five-point cushion at the half. Laura Lee Holman and Realph connected on two three-pointers each, while Lewis and Morrissy each connected on one each.
The Trojans also relied on second chance points off of four offensive rebounds in the opening stanza to open the lead. Troy gathered in four offensive rebounds, scoring seven points off of those rebounds.
After falling behind 29-28 with 4:36 remaining in the opening half, the Trojans went on an 8-2 run to open a 36-31 halftime advantage. Realph connected on the two free throws to give the Trojans a 30-29 lead with 3:51 remaining in the half. The lead expanded to 33-28 on a Realph three-pointer, then to 36-29 on a Morrissy three-pointer with 1:18 remaining in the half.
Denver (8-14, 3-8 SBC) trimmed the lead to five in the final seconds of the half, courtesy of a pair of Sara Bents free throws with just 37 seconds remaining in the half.
“I thought we played pretty hard and did a good job of trying to execute the game plan,” Murphy said. “It is unfortunate, sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way and we just have to find a way to make it bounce our way.”
Troy finished the night connecting on 42.9 (27-of-63) percent of their shots from the floor and 38.9 (7-of-18) percent of their three-point attempts. They also connected on 75 (15-of-20) percent of their free throws. Meanwhile, Denver shot 47.4 (27of-57) percent from the floor and 60 (9-of-15) percent from behind the arc.
Morrissy paced four Trojans in double figures with 21 points, while Holman added 17 points and eight rebounds. Lewis scored 15 points and recorded three steals, while Realph chipped in 10 off the bench.
Godette paced five Pioneers in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Bents added 14 points and eight rebounds. Sara Benham chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, Nenna Akotaobi added 11 points and six rebounds, while Otero added 11 points and five rebounds.
The Trojans return to action Sunday afternoon against the University of South Alabama. The game is set to tip at 3 p.m. at Trojan Arena, and is part of the WBCA “Pack the Gym for Breast Cancer Awareness”.
- www.troytrojans.com -
