Troy University Athletics
McNair Paves Way For Trojans
1/14/2010 3:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - Donette McNair posted her 10th career double-double and fifth of the season, leading the Troy Trojans to an 86-79 victory over North Texas in Sun Belt Conference action.
McNair posted a career-high and game-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, and connected on 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Sarah McAppion came off the bench to add 14 on a perfect night shooting from the floor, connecting on all five field goals and both free throws.
Kirsten Smith added 14 points, while Brittnie Davis added 13 points and three steals in the win for Troy (10-5, 3-3 Sun Belt).
"We shot well as a team tonight," Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. "We got great play from our bench. I thought Sarah played well off the bench for us once again. But I don't want to underestimate the value of Brittnie Davis on this team. She did a lot of things for us in order to win the game."
The Trojans found themselves up by as many as 15 in the first half against North Texas, while they only trailed at one time during the game - and that was in the opening seconds of the game.
However, Troy found themselves scrapping together some runs late in the contest to pull away from North Texas.
The Mean Green found themselves down by seven almost midway through the second half, when they made 13-6 run to tie the score at 57-all with 8:08 to play in the contest.
From that point, Troy pulled away for a four-point advantage over the next two minutes and eventually pulled ahead by as many as eight with 1:49 to play.
Leading 77-69, the Trojans saw North Texas trim the lead to 77-72 with 1:12 to play before pushing ahead 79-74. The Trojans were able to knock down shots near the end of the contest and hit big free throws to hold on for the victory.
Troy was able to overcome a season-high 30 turnovers by shooting 60.4 (32-of-53) percent from the floor and outrebounding the Mean Green, 41-25. The Trojans also shot just 16.7 (2-of-12) percent from beyond the arc and 76.9 (20-of-26) percent from the charity stripe.
North Texas (5-13, 2-5 Sun Belt) was led by Brittney James with 23, while four other players were in double figures for the Mean Green.
The Mean Green shot 45.7 (32-of-70) percent from the floor and 33.3 (5-of-15) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 66.7 (10-of-15) percent from the charity stripe, while turning the ball over 18 times.
The Trojans reach the 10-win plateau for the first time this quickly in head coach Michael Murphy's tenure at the university, and will look to push that number higher as they take on South Alabama.
"We have to get ready to play probably the hottest team in the conference," Murphy said. "They are always tough to play and playing in Mobile is always a tough place to play."
The game tips off at 5:05 pm on Saturday inside the Mitchell Center. The game can be heard on WTBF-94.7 FM, beginning at 4:45 pm with the pregame show.
