Troy University Athletics
Troy University
(W3) University of Louisiana at Monroe
Trojans Face ULM in Opening Round on Saturday
3/5/2011 8:00:36 AM | Basketball (W)
Troy will be looking to avenge an earlier season defeat to the Warhawks
Game Notes | Championship Central (Live Stats, video, audio)
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The march to the postseason has begun, and it will begin in earnest this weekend as the Sun Belt Conference Tournament gets underway at Summit Arena. The Troy University women's basketball team will be the second game on the court, facing ULM at 2:15 pm Saturday afternoon.
Troy and ULM have met just one time this season, with the Warhawks coming out on top at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in January. ULM was able to use the 65-48 victory and propel themselves to the third seed out of the West Division; while the Trojans finished the year as the sixth seed from the East Division.
However, seeds and records do not matter this time of the year as each team has the same objective – win the conference championship and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“Anytime you get into postseason play, everyone starts with a clean slate,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “It's a one and done kind of deal. You win, you go on and if you lose, you go home. It doesn't matter what you did in the past, all that matters is what you did on that particular day. Every day is a championship game. “
This is the third trip to Hot Springs for the Trojans, losing both games played at Summit Arena over the last two years. The Trojans came in as the fourth seed two years ago and as the eight seed last season; both higher seeds in their game.
The last time the Trojans played as a lower seed was three years ago, entering the tournament as the 11th seed overall and upsetting ULM in the opening round at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. In two of the last three years, the Trojans have won their opening round contest and reached the quarterfinals.
“If you don't win that first game, you certainly get a chance to move forward to the championship game,” Murphy said. “That is how we are going to approach it. That is the way we have approached every game since I have been here, that the most important game is the next game on the schedule; and this is the next game on the schedule.”
In their lone meeting this season, the Trojans played with just eight dressed players as Jamesha Blake (Atlanta, Ga./SW DeKalb HS) missed the contest due to passing of her grandmother. In that contest, ULM pulled away in the second half as they opened the final 20 minutes of play on a 21-9 play to put some distance between themselves and Troy.
“The last time we played over there it was a close game for about 30 minutes,” Murphy said. “We didn't have (Jamesha) Blake with us on that trip, which made us even thinner on the bench. Obviously with her playing will help us with that on extra body. It will be huge for us in what we do with our matchups.”
In that meeting, Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) led the Trojans with 17 points, while Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) added 16 points. Meanwhile for ULM, Larrie Williams led the way with 16 points, while Jordan Rawson came off the bench to score 11 – her first career game in double figures.
The Warhawks played 14 players to Troy's eight in that contest; shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and holding Troy to just 32.7 percent shooting from the floor.
“ULM is a good basketball team and they have a lot of interchangeable parts,” Murphy said. “They are an athletic team, they can score from several spots on the floor and they don't overpower you with size. But what they do is they play a lot of people and they are constantly bringing bodies into the game that are very similar to one another. Saying that means they don't lose a lot when it comes to defensive matchups.
“That is going to be a concern for us because we are just so short on our bench, and we are going to have to find a way to counteract that. Our people who play extended minutes simply can't afford to get tired, and can't cave in to fatigue. That is going to be the biggest concern.”
For the Trojans, McNair leads the way in scoring and rebounding as the Third Team All-Conference selection is averaging 14.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She is joined in double figures by DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) at 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, junior Tenia Manuel (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg HS) is averaging 8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season.
Live stats, video and audio will be provided by the Sun Belt Conference for the tournament contest. The winner of the game will face East Division second seed FIU on Sunday afternoon.
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