Troy Falls to ULM Despite Late Offensive Surge

Saturday, January 21

Troy, Ala.

5:15 p.m.

Troy University

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Photo by: Edward Fieder

Troy Falls to ULM Despite Late Offensive Surge

1/21/2012 8:17:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Troy women's basketball fell to ULM 49-46 at home on Saturday.

By: Ben Maxwell

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Troy, Ala. – Troy women's basketball ignited an impressive late comeback on ULM before falling 49-46 in Sartain Hall on Saturday.

“I'm really proud of my team's effort, we fought really hard tonight,” head coach Michael Murphy said.

“We had a complete turnaround from Thursday's game. We had a hard practice on Friday morning and really stressed some things and we accomplished that tonight, we just came up short.”

Troy guard Sarah McAppion earned a starting position against ULM after a 15 point performance in Troy's last time out against FAU. McAppion led the Trojans in scoring for the second consecutive game posting 12 total points shooting 50% from the floor and 3-point land.

The close Trojan finish was due to the rebounding efforts of Tenia Manuel, who led the team with nine rebounds, and Ieva Nagy who totaled seven.
The Trojans struggled to stop the hot shooting streak of ULM's Larrie Williams and Jasmine Shaw who combined to score 21 points while both hitting double-digit scores.

Troy (1-17, 0-7 Sun Belt) struggled late in the first half giving up a 12-0 surge to ULM (5-15, 4-4) to give the Wahawks a 30-16 lead. However, the Trojans subdued the ULM run with a quick four point run by Trojan junior Jamesha Blake to send the Trojans into halftime down 30-20.

The Trojans continued their run into the second half, going up on the Warhawks with a 6-0 run cutting into their lead 30-26. The Trojans fell behind again after a 16-6 ULM attack making the score 46-32.

Late in the second half Troy answered back with consecutive 3-point scores from Jasmine Pitts, Sarah McAppion and Brooke Bowie to build a 14-1 run on ULM making the score 47-46. The run was also maintained by strong defensive pressure as Troy kept the Warhawks from scoring a fieldgoal for the last seven and a half minutes.

ULM went on to have the final word with an Elxar Tuglar layup to secure a 49-46 lead and the Warhawk win.

“I told the players, the last shot of the game doesn't win the game, every shot wins the game from the first one to the last one,” Murphy said.

“Every rebound is important from the first one to the last one. I'm grateful for the work ethic and for the positive attitude and the willingness to show up and work hard. We now get to travel to take on Middle Tennessee on the road. That was a game we probably should have won at home. I think our kids will go into that game with a lot of confidence and spirit.”

Troy will now prepare to hit the road to take on Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm.