Trojans Return To Winning Ways During Exam Week

Saturday, December 4

Troy, AL

2:00 p.m.

Troy University

Belhaven University (Miss.)

Photo by: Edward Fieder

Trojans Return To Winning Ways During Exam Week

12/4/2010 5:09:50 PM | Basketball (W)

Troy nearly doubles up Belhaven in dominating Blazers

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – With final exams being conducted on the campus of Troy University, the Trojans women's basketball team hit the hardwood to take a study break against Belhaven (Miss.) University on Saturday afternoon in non-conference play.

The Trojans looked to end a string of back-to-back losses, and did so in a big way as they nearly doubled up Belhaven; winning 75-39 in non-conference action at Sartain Hall.

“Obviously it is a nice win for us, especially this time of year,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “It is a stressful time of year for a student, much less a student-athlete, when you talk about finals and having to play a game. Watching the girls perform the way they did today, under some adverse circumstances – as is men's basketball and football – I was pleased with their effort.

“We have a lot of people with ice packs, bandages and braces; we are a little bit beat up right now so this game came at a good time. I am pleased with the way we played off the bench, and hopefully we can continue it for the rest of the month. I thought the production out of our bench for the first time all year; I thought that was a big factor in the game.”

The Troy (2-6) bench outscored Belhaven's bench 25-5 on the night; including career-highs from Dominique Ross (Covington, Tenn./Covington HS), Brooke Bowie (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell HS) and Chelsey Johnson (Lexington, Ky./Three Rivers CC).

The Trojans were led on the day by junior DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) with 15 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Junior Tenia Manuel (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg HS) added 13 points and eight rebounds, while senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, junior Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) narrowly missed a double-double as she recorded nine points and nine rebounds. She also added five assists in the victory.

“They were just more aggressive,” Belhaven coach Billy Evans said. “I think their aggressiveness was the key to the game, you can see it from their last player on the bench to their first player introduced in the starting lineup. They attack harder. They're just so aggressive and they finish shots well.”

The Trojans bounced back from their defeat against WKU on Wednesday night, where they had their consecutive game streak of three-pointers made ended at 58. On Saturday afternoon, they shot a season-best 47.1 (8-of-17) percent from beyond the arc in the victory; connecting on a season-high eight.

“We have struggled from beyond the arc this year,” Murphy said. “Not because we have taken bad shots, but because we were not connecting; and those are two entirely different things. They came out in a zone today, which came as a surprise to me, and we made some shots early from a variety of people. We had balance and I think that will help with our confidence going into the remainder of the
month.

“We have taken good shots all year and our shooting percentage doesn't reflect that. However, over the last two weeks our percentage has come up because the shots have started to go in. Hitting some shots early gives you confidence, and we were able to do that the entire game.”

The Trojans took the lead on the first basket of the game as Sword connected on a three-pointer from the wing just 40 seconds into the contest. They extended the lead 17 points, at 23-6, before ending the half by outscoring Belhaven 18-13 to take a 41-19 advantage into the locker room.

The second half was much the same story, as the Trojans never allowed Belhaven (6-4) to get into the contest. Troy pushed their lead to as much as 30 down the stretch, before free throws down the stretch provided the final margin.

The Trojans dominated in every statistical category on Saturday afternoon, including dishing out 17 total assists. They also outrebounding Belhaven 55-40 on the day.

“That is a lot of rebounds, I don't care who you are playing,” Murphy said. “That is a lot, especially when you shoot the ball as well as we did today. They are a good rebounding team, they came in averaging 19 offensive rebounds a game and had nine games under their belt. They have played against some good teams, so I was pleased with our rebounding today.”

The Trojans return to action Sunday, December 12 against Florida Gulf Coast at Sartain Hall. Tip is set for 2 pm. For ticket information, contact the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-878-WINS (9467).

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