Troy University Athletics
Troy Returns to Hardwood Tuesday Night
1/5/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - The Troy University women's basketball program will be in search of their fourth consecutive victory Tuesday night, hosting Florida Atlantic University at Trojan Arena with the game is set to tip-off at 7 pm.
Kylie Morrissy leads the Trojans, averaging 16.1 points per game this season and 14.3 points per game in three conference games this season. Donette McNair is averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game thus far for the Trojans. Meanwhile, freshman Kirsten 'Mookie' Smith is averaging over 10 points per game in conference play this season.
Meanwhile, FAU leads the all-time series 11-8 over the Trojans with the two teams splitting the season series last season. The Owls enter the match-up fresh off a victory over South Alabama, and the winner of this game will reach the .500 mark in the league and be just 1 1/2 games behind East Division leader Middle Tennessee State University.
Game Notes
CAREER NIGHTS: Senior point guard Larelle Roper recorded a career-high 11 points in an overtime victory over Montana State University in the first game of the Battle at the Border Classic on December 28. Just six days later, her back-up and former starting shooting guard Kirsten 'Mookie' Smith recorded a career-high night of her own against FIU. In her first home conference game of her career, Smith scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Her night helped the Trojans bench outscore the FIU bench, 24-10 (Troy won the game by 11, with the bench outscoring FIU by 14).
100 CONSECUTIVE GAMES: Three Trojans played in their 100th consecutive game against FIU Saturday night. All three players are seniors, and all have played in 100 games (all consecutive). Danielle Realph, Larelle Roper and Kylie Morrissy all recorded the feat; with Morrissy and Roper maintaining their active starting streak. Morrissy has the possibility of starting 100 consecutive games in her career if the Trojans can qualify for postseason play.
HOT-SHOOTING TROJANS: Troy has shot over 50 percent in a half on five different occasions, including in both halves against FIU Saturday night. The 53.8 (28-of-52) percent for the game is the highest mark of the season for Troy in a complete game this season. Meanwhile, the 58.3 (14-of-24) percent shooting in the first half matched a previous game earlier this season.
ALL-TIME IN THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE: The Trojans are 34-56 all-time in Sun Belt Conference play, including a 1-2 record this season. Last season, the Trojans made the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a last-second victory over the University of Louisiana-Monroe in the first round on the road.
LONGEST HOMESTAND OF THE SEASON: After concluding their longest road trip of the season that included four different arenas over five games, the Trojans return home for the longest homestand of the season. They will open the homestand with FIU, followed by Florida Atlantic on January 6, before closing the homestand against Louisiana-Lafayette next weekend. Over the road trip, the Trojans went 2-3 with both victories coming at the Battle of the Border Classic hosted by UT-Pan American last weekend - taking place at the conclusion of the Christmas Break.
BIGGEST CROWD OF THE SEASON: Troy played in front of their biggest crowd of the season Saturday night against Middle Tennessee, playing in front of 2,911 fans. Last season, the Trojans played in front of three crowds of 2,000 or more. Ironically, one of the games was at E.A. Diddle Arena in which they played in front of 3,923 fans.
93 POINTS: The 93 points scored against Spring Hill this season matched the highest total ever scored by a Michael Murphy-coached team, and is the highest point total scored by a Troy team since the 1997-98 season in which the Trojans defeated Chicago State 113-58 en route to the Mid-Continent Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament - the only tournament berth in the history of the program.
FOUR TOURNAMENT TEAMS THIS SEASON: Troy has faced four tournament team this season after they took to the floor against WKU. They have all ready played Georgia Tech and George Washington (NCAA Tournament teams), and Middle Tennessee - a WNIT participant last season. So far, the Trojans are 0-4 against tournament teams.
For ticket information to the Troy Trojans basketball game, contact the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-878-WINS.
