Troy University Athletics
Trojans End Streak, Defeat Army
1/5/2010 2:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - The Troy Trojans were able to able to rebound from Saturday's loss, running away from Army 74-65 in non-conference action at Trojan Arena on Monday night.
“Army is a very well-coached basketball team,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “I am glad we got this win and get the monkey off our back so-to-speak. I am aware of what they go through everyday at West Point, and the sacrifices that they will make for our country in the future. This is just a game for them, and sometimes we lose site of that. But I am thankful for everything they have done and will do in the future.”
Freshman Sophie Kleeman paced five Troy players in double figures with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Senior Alyce Shearing added 14, while Brittnie Davis added 13, Sarah McAppion 11 off the bench and Donette McNair 11 in the victory.
Army was led by Erin Anthony with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Jessie Coiffard added 13 and Nalini Hawkins 10 for the visitors.
The Trojans tied the school record for free throw percentage in a single game, converting on all 15 of their attempts. That matched a record set in 1994 against Chicago State.
After Army scored the first basket of the second half to tie the game at 30-all, the Trojans used an 18-2 run over the next 4:36 to take a 48-32 lead with 14:16 to play.
“At halftime I saw the look of concern on their faces after the last two games,” Murphy said. “I challenged them at halftime and they came out and answered the call. I am proud of the way they came out in the second half, and the success they had after the way the last two games turned out.”
The run was keyed by a technical foul called on Army's Laura Baranek that led to four consecutive free throws by McAppion to give the Trojans a 45-32 cushion with 15:46 to play in the contest. However, the run started with a jumper from Davis and featured baskets by Kleeman, Shearing (3-pointer) and McNair. It also featured free throws from Davis and McAppion.
Following a timeout, the Trojans continued the run on another 3-pointer from Shearing with 13:33 to play to push the lead to 51-34. Davis converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 12:55 to play to give the Trojans a 20-point lead at 54-34 in the second half.
From that point, the two teams traded baskets until Army hit consecutive 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor to trim the lead to 57-43 with less than 10 minutes to go. However, Troy had an answer for everything Army did in the second half, never relinquishing the lead.
Army did not go away in the second half, trimming the 20-point down to 12 at 61-49 with 7:36 to play following an old-fashioned three-point play by Anthony - a string of six consecutive points by the Black Knights captain. The lead continued to dwindle in the second half as the Black Knights added a pair of points from the free throw line by Liz Benedict to trim the lead to 61-51 with 7:02 to play in the contest.
However, the Trojans answered on the next possession when Davis drained a long jumper with 6:46 to play, pushing the lead to 63-51. On the next possession by Army, Troy's McNair drew an offensive foul that led to a lay-up by the junior on the other end with 6:07 to play to push the lead to 65-51.
Troy was able to hold a double-digit lead until 1:50 remaining in the contest when Anthony trimmed the Troy lead to 70-62 with a lay-up. She was unable to trim the lead further when she missed a free throw, and the Trojans were able to milk the clock away to end the two-game skid.
“I am pleased with our effort,” Murphy said. “We played hard throughout. Our offense has not been the problem over the past two games, it has been our inability to defend and rebound down the stretch. We were able to do that tonight. However, we can't enjoy this victory too much as we have to prepare for Florida Atlantic whom we play on Wednesday.”
The Trojans' dominance showed in the second half, but started with a run in the first half to be able to pull away from Army midway through the first half.
After falling behind in the opening minutes of the contest, the Trojans went on a 15-4 run over a span of six minutes to take a two-point lead which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the first half.
Trailing 13-4 with 14:53 to play, the Trojans started their run with a 3-pointer from sophomore McAppion off the bench which she followed up with a jumper just 20 seconds later to trim the lead 13-9 with 13:39 to play in the half. Following a basket by Army's Coiffard, Troy's Shearing trimmed the Army lead to 15-12 with 12:50 left to play in the first half.
Troy took their first lead of the game after a Kleeman 3-pointer and a fastbreak lay-up by Tenia Manuel with 10:19 to play in the half, taking a 17-15 lead. After an Army basket tied the game at 17-all with 10 minutes to play, Troy took the lead for the remainder of the half on a Kirsten Smith lay-up with 9:48 to play in the opening half.
The Trojans built seven-point advantage, 28-21, with 3:23 to play before Army made 7-2 run to close out the first half of action. The Black Knights got baskets from Allison Grapevine and Anthony, before Hawkins knocked a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Troy bench to trim the Troy lead to 30-28 with 32 seconds to play. Both teams had an opportunity in the final seconds to score, but could not come away with a basket.
The Trojans return to action Wednesday night on the road in Sun Belt Conference action, hitting the road to Boca Raton. There, they will face Florida Atlantic University at 4 pm (CST) before playing FIU on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm (CST) in Miami. The game on Wednesday has been moved to WTBF-970 AM to accommodate the GMAC Bowl which will be heard on the FM station.
“Army is a very well-coached basketball team,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “I am glad we got this win and get the monkey off our back so-to-speak. I am aware of what they go through everyday at West Point, and the sacrifices that they will make for our country in the future. This is just a game for them, and sometimes we lose site of that. But I am thankful for everything they have done and will do in the future.”
Freshman Sophie Kleeman paced five Troy players in double figures with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Senior Alyce Shearing added 14, while Brittnie Davis added 13, Sarah McAppion 11 off the bench and Donette McNair 11 in the victory.
Army was led by Erin Anthony with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Jessie Coiffard added 13 and Nalini Hawkins 10 for the visitors.
The Trojans tied the school record for free throw percentage in a single game, converting on all 15 of their attempts. That matched a record set in 1994 against Chicago State.
After Army scored the first basket of the second half to tie the game at 30-all, the Trojans used an 18-2 run over the next 4:36 to take a 48-32 lead with 14:16 to play.
“At halftime I saw the look of concern on their faces after the last two games,” Murphy said. “I challenged them at halftime and they came out and answered the call. I am proud of the way they came out in the second half, and the success they had after the way the last two games turned out.”
The run was keyed by a technical foul called on Army's Laura Baranek that led to four consecutive free throws by McAppion to give the Trojans a 45-32 cushion with 15:46 to play in the contest. However, the run started with a jumper from Davis and featured baskets by Kleeman, Shearing (3-pointer) and McNair. It also featured free throws from Davis and McAppion.
Following a timeout, the Trojans continued the run on another 3-pointer from Shearing with 13:33 to play to push the lead to 51-34. Davis converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 12:55 to play to give the Trojans a 20-point lead at 54-34 in the second half.
From that point, the two teams traded baskets until Army hit consecutive 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor to trim the lead to 57-43 with less than 10 minutes to go. However, Troy had an answer for everything Army did in the second half, never relinquishing the lead.
Army did not go away in the second half, trimming the 20-point down to 12 at 61-49 with 7:36 to play following an old-fashioned three-point play by Anthony - a string of six consecutive points by the Black Knights captain. The lead continued to dwindle in the second half as the Black Knights added a pair of points from the free throw line by Liz Benedict to trim the lead to 61-51 with 7:02 to play in the contest.
However, the Trojans answered on the next possession when Davis drained a long jumper with 6:46 to play, pushing the lead to 63-51. On the next possession by Army, Troy's McNair drew an offensive foul that led to a lay-up by the junior on the other end with 6:07 to play to push the lead to 65-51.
Troy was able to hold a double-digit lead until 1:50 remaining in the contest when Anthony trimmed the Troy lead to 70-62 with a lay-up. She was unable to trim the lead further when she missed a free throw, and the Trojans were able to milk the clock away to end the two-game skid.
“I am pleased with our effort,” Murphy said. “We played hard throughout. Our offense has not been the problem over the past two games, it has been our inability to defend and rebound down the stretch. We were able to do that tonight. However, we can't enjoy this victory too much as we have to prepare for Florida Atlantic whom we play on Wednesday.”
The Trojans' dominance showed in the second half, but started with a run in the first half to be able to pull away from Army midway through the first half.
After falling behind in the opening minutes of the contest, the Trojans went on a 15-4 run over a span of six minutes to take a two-point lead which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the first half.
Trailing 13-4 with 14:53 to play, the Trojans started their run with a 3-pointer from sophomore McAppion off the bench which she followed up with a jumper just 20 seconds later to trim the lead 13-9 with 13:39 to play in the half. Following a basket by Army's Coiffard, Troy's Shearing trimmed the Army lead to 15-12 with 12:50 left to play in the first half.
Troy took their first lead of the game after a Kleeman 3-pointer and a fastbreak lay-up by Tenia Manuel with 10:19 to play in the half, taking a 17-15 lead. After an Army basket tied the game at 17-all with 10 minutes to play, Troy took the lead for the remainder of the half on a Kirsten Smith lay-up with 9:48 to play in the opening half.
The Trojans built seven-point advantage, 28-21, with 3:23 to play before Army made 7-2 run to close out the first half of action. The Black Knights got baskets from Allison Grapevine and Anthony, before Hawkins knocked a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Troy bench to trim the Troy lead to 30-28 with 32 seconds to play. Both teams had an opportunity in the final seconds to score, but could not come away with a basket.
The Trojans return to action Wednesday night on the road in Sun Belt Conference action, hitting the road to Boca Raton. There, they will face Florida Atlantic University at 4 pm (CST) before playing FIU on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm (CST) in Miami. The game on Wednesday has been moved to WTBF-970 AM to accommodate the GMAC Bowl which will be heard on the FM station.
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