Miscues and Missed Shots Cost Trojans Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, January 15

Troy, AL

4:00 p.m.

Troy University

University of North Texas

Photo by: Edward Fieder

Miscues and Missed Shots Cost Trojans Saturday Afternoon

1/15/2011 7:18:07 PM | Basketball (W)

Troy falls to 1-4 in Sun Belt Conference action, hits road Wednesday

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score | Photo Gallery (one) | Photo Gallery (two)

TROY, Ala. – Miscues and missed opportunities summed up the night for the Troy University women's basketball at Sartain Hall Saturday afternoon. The Trojans committed 22 turnovers and failed to convert in crucial situations as they fell to North Texas 72-57.

“I am extremely disappointed with the loss,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “I thought we played hard, but in this game it is not about activity it is about achievement. I really feel bad for the kids because they gave effort, we just didn't convert on some really good scoring opportunities which would have made a huge difference in the basketball game.”

Troy (4-14, 1-4 Sun Belt) fell behind early, but was able to come back and take their only lead of the contest at 12-10 on a three-pointer from Brooke Bowie (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell HS) off the bench with 12:05 left to play in the first half.

However, from there North Texas strung together a trio of mini-runs in the first half to pull away late in the opening 20 minutes. The first came following the Bowie three-pointer, as the Mean Green scored the next six points to take a 16-10 lead with 10:03 remaining in the opening half. The next came after a timeout with 6:39 to play in the half, as North Texas scored six consecutive points to take a 25-18 lead; their biggest lead of the game at that point.

The final mini-run for the Mean Green came with 1:25 to play as they scored five consecutive points to pull to a 35-24 run, the first double-digit lead of the game for the Mean Green. However, Troy fought for momentum going into the locker room as they scored the final four points of the half. Following a free throw from DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) with just 4.8 seconds remaining, Bowie stole the errant North Texas pass and drained a three-pointer from the wing as the buzzer sounded. The basket trimmed the lead to 35-28 at the break.

Unfortunately all the momentum that Troy was able to muster in the final seconds of the first half, North Texas seized in the opening minutes of the second half as they scored the first five points to take a 42-28 lead with 17:09 to play in the contest. The outburst highlighted a 10-2 North Texas run that pushed them to an insurmountable 46-30 lead with 14:51 remaining in the contest.

The Trojans fought with each possession to try and get back into the game, but North Texas had an answer for every run by the Trojans. Troy trailed 56-37 with 10:57 remaining, but was able to trim the deficit to 56-44 as they scored seven consecutive points. The 7-0 run was highlighted by four points from senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) and three from sophomore Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS). However, North Texas ended the run by scoring four consecutive points, and the two teams traded baskets in the remaining 5:33 of the contest.

McNair lead Troy with her eighth double-double of the season as she registered 19 points and 10 rebounds, shooting just 36.8 (7-of-19) percent from the floor. Kleeman added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss. Sword added 10 points on just 4-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Meanwhile, sophomore Jamesha Blake (Atlanta, Ga./SW DeKalb HS) added nine rebounds to the Trojans total, as they were outrebounded by North Texas 39-35. Bowie chipped in seven points off the bench for the Trojans, all in the first half.

“Jamesha Blake has been the real surprise for me this season,” Murphy said. “She didn't play much at all last year, and she has stepped forward and really become a leader. She is doing it the right way, leading with actions. She speaks up, but actions speak louder than words. She has worked her tail off this season. If there is a loose ball, she is always around it.”

North Texas (5-14, 2-4 Sun Belt) recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in 44 games, which dates back to the beginning of the 2009-10 season. They were led by Brittney Hudson with 18 points, while Tamara Torru chipped in 14, Denetra Kellum 11 and Jasmine Godbolt 10 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

Troy shot 41.5 (22-of-53) percent from the floor, while they hit 55.6 (5-of-9) percent of their three-point opportunities. They also shot just 53.3 (8-of-15) percent from the free throw line. The Mean Green shot 42.9 (27of-63) percent from the floor, 50 (11-of-22) percent from beyond the arc and 53.8 (7-of-13) percent from the free throw line.

“I thought our shot selection was really good, I thought our ball movement was really good and I thought our spacing was really good,” Murphy said. “That is what you want out of your offense, and when we got the ball into scoring position we just didn't convert. I thought we got in a hurry in the post and we didn't take advantage there. And I thought in the transition we didn't take advantage of some opportunities.

“That is a by-product of some of these guys who were reserves last year, or first year players who are not starters and have to be difference-makers trying to make the transition and take ownership of that. It is a learning process, sometimes a painful learning process. But we had some good looks and good opportunities, we just didn't make enough shots.”

The Trojans return to action Wednesday night on the road at Middle Tennessee. The game tips at 7 pm, and can be heard on WTBF-94.7 FM beginning with the pregame at 6:45 pm.

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