Troy University Athletics
Saturday, January 17
Troy, Ala.
2 p.m.
Troy University
10-5, 5-1
84
vs
74
Georgia Southern
4-11, 1-5
1
2
F
Georgia Southern
33
41
74
Troy
34
50
84
Team Stats
GASO
TROY
FG%
.459
.372
3FG%
.391
.222
FT%
.818
.714
RB
45
51
TO
25
7
STL
5
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (W)
G
/ Basketball (W)G
/ Basketball (W)F
/ Basketball (W)G
/ Basketball (W)
G
/ Basketball (W)Photo by: Chip Dillard
Troy Pressures Georgia Southern, Wins Fifth Straight
1/17/2015 5:05:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball continued to roll as it defeated Georgia Southern, 84-74, at Trojan Arena on Saturday night. The win was Troy's fifth straight, the longest streak for the program since 2008-09. Troy's 5-1 start to Sun Belt play is its best start since 1998-99.
Turnovers were the main difference as Troy (10-5, 5-1) forced Georgia Southern into 25 miscues while committing a season-low seven turnovers itself. Those turnovers led to a huge discrepancy in shooting as Troy attempted a season-high 94 shots and Georgia Southern (4-11, 1-5) attempted just 61.
Ronita Garrett led the Trojans with 16 points, 13 rebounds and five steals, marking her third straight double-double. The senior now has 10 double-doubles on the season, the most in the Sun Belt. Lacey Buchanon scored in double figures for the third straight game as she tallied 14 points off the Troy bench, including 12 in the second half.
Despite the fast pace, which favored a Troy team that likes to run, the game was close throughout, including late when Troy led 73-72 with 1:44 to go. It was then that Rachel Reid buried a 3-pointer to give Troy a two-possession lead. Buchanon assisted on the trey, her team-high fifth assist of the game.
After the Eagles got the lead back down to two, 76-74, Ashley Beverly-Kelley got a layup to push the lead again to four. Beverly-Kelley finished with 10 points and now needs 15 to reach her 1,000th career point.
From there, Troy held Georgia Southern scoreless and pulled out to a 10-point advantage at the free throw line. The 10-point win was the biggest in Troy's current five-game winning streak.
Georgia Southern was led by Anna Claire Knight who had a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. She also grabbed 10 rebounds to tie with Briana Jones for the Eagles' team lead.
Despite their 25 turnovers, Georgia Southern stayed in the game much of the way thanks to its 3-point shooting. The Eagles hit nine 3-pointers (9-of-23) on the day, but did not make a trey in the final nine minutes. Troy, on the other hand, was 4-of-18 from deep.
Aissata Maiga and Simiah Blount, two unlikely candidates, each hit a 3-pointer for the Trojans, the second of the season for each. Maiga rounded out four double-digit scorers for Troy as she posted 11 points.
The Trojans outrebounded Georgia Southern, 51-45, thanks in large part to 24 offensive rebounds. The Trojans outscored the Eagles in every specialty category, including second-chance points were they had an 18-6 advantage. Troy also topped the Eagles in points in the paint (42-20), points off turnover (25-4), fast break points (19-4) and bench points (38-9).
Georgia Southern (46 percent, 28-of-61) posted a better overall shooting percentage than Troy (37 percent, 35-of-94) but, Troy attempted 33 more shots than Georgia Southern.
The Trojans return to the court on Monday when they host Appalachian State at Trojan Arena at 5:15 p.m. The Mountaineers defeated Sun Belt favorite Arkansas State on Thursday, but lost at home to Georgia State on Saturday.
For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
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