Troy University Athletics
Troy Heads North to Face Old Rival
11/17/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - The Troy Trojans will look to bounce back Tuesday night, and gain their first victory of the season, when they hit the road to face long-time rival Jacksonville State University. Tip is set for 5:15 pm at Pete Mathews Coliseum on the campus of Jacksonville State.
Troy (0-1) is coming off a hard-fought 70-65 loss to Auburn last Friday night on the road, playing shorthanded with injuries suffered before and during the contest. Senior Lucy Lindley did not make the trip for the Trojans with an injury and fellow senior Alyce Shearing
“We weren't sure if Alyce would be ready to go when the game started,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “She struggled with her injury and hopefully it will be better on Tuesday. We just need to prepare for our next game on Tuesday. We just need to take the positives from here and build on them, take the things we need to work on and work on them and move forward.”
Throughout the game on Friday, there were injuries on both sides, but the biggest was sophomore guard Kirsten Smith who left just seven minutes into the contest and did not return.
Although the Trojans had injury problems, the bench came up big for them on Friday night as they outscored Auburn 30-21. Sophomore Sarah McAppion and freshman Sophie Kleeman paced the Trojans off the bench with 12 points each, while Cortney Hawkins finished with seven rebounds off the bench.
“Sarah and Sophie did a great job coming off the bench,” Murphy said. “They played the way we hoped that they would play in that game. I don't want Cortney [Hawkins] to get lost in the bunch either, I thought she did a great job coming off the bench. Our bench played with purpose and a great deal of determination.
“Without the bench, we would have struggled against Auburn. We tell our players all the time, if you come off the bench, you have to come with some energy especially on defense.” was a game-time decision with her injury on Friday.
Brittnie Davis stepped up for the Trojans in a starting role, scoring a team-high 14 points and recorded a team-high four steals.
The Trojans will look to bounce back against a familiar foe in Jacksonville State (0-1), with Tuesday night's game being the 59th meeting between the two schools. They have played five times since Murphy took over the reigns of the Troy program, and Murphy is 3-2 against Jacksonville State here at Troy. The Trojans also lead the all-time series 38-20, but trail in the series on the road 14-13.
“The Jacksonville State series always has the advantage going to the home team,” Murphy said. “Whoever is playing at home usually has won, and the other team hasn't played that well. We are looking forward to the game this week, and I don't think anyone expected this time out of us early. Hopefully we can build on that.”
Last season, the Trojans won the meeting between the two schools 59-56 at Trojan Arena; while two years ago Jacksonville State prevailed 72-65 at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The last time a team won on the road was February 1, 2003 when the Trojans prevailed 84-76 at Jacksonville.
The game is set to tip at 5:15 pm at Pete Mathews Coliseum and can be heard on WLJS 91.9 FM in the Jacksonville-area. It can also be seen on the Alabama Cable Network, with Ray Hammett providing the play-by-play.
