Troy Falls to UNT in First Round Despite Inspiring First Half Surge

Saturday, March 3

Hot Springs, Ark.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

University of North Texas

Troy Falls to UNT in First Round Despite Inspiring First Half Surge

3/3/2012 5:25:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Troy women's basketball fell to North Texast 75-61 in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament on Saturday.

By: Ben Maxwell

Box Score | Game Recap

Hot Springs, Ark. – Troy women's basketball fell to North Texas 75-61 despite an inspiring first half comeback in the first round of the Sun Belt conference tournament on Saturday.

“I'm really proud of my basketball team,” head coach Michael Murphy said. “Some of these guys go through a lot just to be on the court, but they played hard and with a lot of passion.”

The Trojans fell by only a minor offensive deficit as North Texas only claimed four more shots from the field, three of which were from behind the 3-point line. Troy was led offensively by junior Sarah McAppion with 12 total points and sophomore Brooke Bowie with 10 total points. Bowie also led her team in rebounding for only the second time this season totaling six rebounds.

Troy struggled to slow down a strong North Texas attack that had four players break double-digit scoring. Jasmine Godbolt continued to lead her team in scoring as she came off the bench to lead her team with 13 total points.

Troy fell behind the Mean Green early in the first two minutes of the game as North Texas went on an 8-0 run. North Texas would continue to extend their lead throughout the half to as much as much as 23 points with 7:23 remaining. However, the Trojans found their mark as they hit a 13-0 point run to cut the North Texas lead to 39-32 heading into halftime.

The second was a stalemate between both squads as Troy kept the Mean Green within reach by allowing no more than a 10 point lead. However, North Texas hit a 10-0 point run staring at the 10:03 mark in the half increasing their lead to as much as 20 points. The Trojans were unable to slow the aggressive North Texas surge as the Mean Green went on to knock off Troy from the tournament with a 75-61 final victory.

“The opening ten minutes was the key to the basketball game,” Murphy said.

“Their early offensive start really helped them. We got some really good looks at the basket early but we just didn't connect. We did a good job corralling their second chance shots after the first ten minutes that allowed us to get back into the game. It was just the first ten minutes that was the key to the game for both teams.”