TROY Falls in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, February 26

Miami, FL

4:30 p.m. (EST)

Troy University

Florida International University

Photo by: Troy University

2/26/2011 5:23:54 PM | Basketball (W)

Trojans prepare for Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which starts next Saturday

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

MIAMI, Fla. – The Troy University women's basketball team ended the regular season with a 71-47 loss to FIU in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday evening at the US Century Bank Arena.

The loss ends back-to-back seasons with wins in their last regular season game, and back-to-back wins against FIU in Miami for the Trojans.

Senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New led Troy with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor. She also connected on 4-of-6 from the free throw line, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists. Sophomore Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) finished the contest with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, all five shots were three-pointers.

The game was the last regular season game for McNair as she will enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with 1,130 career points and 756 rebounds. She is also entering the tournament with 126 steals, as she is one of 23 active players in the country to have 1,000 career points – 700 rebounds – 100 steals.

Meanwhile, Jerica Coley led FIU with 21 points, while Fanni Hutlassa came off the bench to add 20 points. Senior Michelle Gonzalez added 15 points in her final home game at FIU.

The first half had four lead changes and was tied twice as the two teams jockeyed for positioning in the contest. FIU (15-15, 10-6 Sun Belt) took the first lead of the contest when Michelle Gonzalez drained a three-pointer with 18:24 remaining in the opening half, giving the Golden Panthers a 3-0 lead.

They were never able to get more than four points ahead of the Trojans in the early stages, as Troy (5-23, 2-14 Sun Belt) was able to keep the game close thanks to clutch free throw shooting and the play of junior Tenia Manuel (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg HS) in the opening stages of the game.

Trailing 10-6, the Trojans' Kleeman drained a three-pointer to trim the lead to 10-9 with 15:10 remaining in the half. After a three-point by Hutlassa, Troy's McNair completed a three-point play to trim the lead to one at 13-12 with 14:20 left to play in the half. The Trojans took their first lead of the contest on a layup from Manuel with 13:41 to play in the half.

After FIU tied the game and took the lead, the Trojans fought back to take their final lead of the half on a jumper from McNair with 11:21 to play in the half, taking a 19-18 lead. The Trojans fought to within a single point at 22-21 with 7:10 to play in the half on a lay-up from Dominque Ross (Covington, Tenn./Covington HS), but were unable to get any closer four throughout the remainder of the half as FIU finished the half off connecting on four of their final six shots over the last four minutes of the opening half.

At the start of the second half, as play started physical underneath, both teams started to rely on their outside shooting. FIU came out hot as Coley, Hutlassa and Gonzalez all hit shots from long range to extend their lead to nine at 43-34 with 15:36 to play in the half. The Trojans used the long-range game of Kleeman and Brooke Bowie (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell HS) to stay close through the first five minutes of the half.

However, eight consecutive points by Coley and the inability of the Trojans to hit a field goal for four minutes, allowed FIU to jump to 51-35 lead with just under 13 minutes to play. A lay-up by McNair ended the run FIU with 12:34 to play, trimming the deficit to 51-37; however a basket by Carmen Miloglav and back-to-back baskets by Gonzalez pushed the FIU lead to 58-37 with 11:18 to play in the contest.

The run ended at 19-3 with 8:12 remaining in the contest when McNair connected on a lay-up to trim the deficit to 60-39. The Trojans kept plugging away, trying to shorten the gap between the two teams but FIU had an answer to everything Troy tried to do in the second half.

Troy finished the contest shooting 40.0 (18-for-45) percent from the floor and 38.5 (5-for-13) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 60.0 (6-for-10) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, FIU shot 49.1 (27-for-55) percent from the floor and 38.1 (8-for-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 90.0 (9-for-10) percent from the free throw line.

The Trojans will be off until next Saturday when they hit the floor in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Pairings for the tournament will be made available on Sunday in a release from the Sun Belt Conference office, as the Trojans will either face ULM or Arkansas State in the opening round as the sixth seed from the East Division.

For all the latest news on Troy University Athletics, follow us on Twitter at /TroyAthletics and become a fan on Facebook.