Troy University Athletics
Tuesday, February 16
Mobile, Ala.
5 p.m.
Troy University
12-12, 7-8SBC
63
at
65
South Alabama
12-12, 8-7SBC
1
2
3
4
F
Troy
22
11
18
12
63
South Alabama
15
24
9
17
65
Team Stats
TROY
USA
FG%
.306
.387
3FG%
.400
.381
FT%
.688
.500
RB
52
43
TO
17
16
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (W)
G
/ Basketball (W)
F
/ Basketball (W)
G
/ Basketball (W)F
/ Basketball (W)G
/ Basketball (W)
Photo by: Alex Lewis
Troy Loses Heartbreaker on South Alabama Last-Second Shot
2/16/2016 8:26:00 PM | Basketball (W)
MOBILE, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball team lost, 65-63, on South Alabama's last-second layup that capped an 8-0 run for the Jaguars at the Mitchell Center on Tuesday night. Colby Davis made the contested game-winning layup for South Alabama with 1.4 seconds remaining after Troy's 17th turnover gave the Jaguars that chance.
Troy was inbounding the ball with 16.5 seconds remaining with the score 63-63. However, Caitlyn Ramirez's inbound attempt was handed to Ashley Beverly Kelley instead of passed in, giving South Alabama possession. Time had run off the clock that shouldn't have, but instead of resetting it back to 16.5 seconds, the officials set the clock at 17.6 seconds ahead of the Jaguars final possession.
Troy (12-12, 7-8) got itself into that position with three straight empty possessions to close the game, including turnovers on the final two. After two Claresa Banks free throws gave Troy a 63-57 lead with 1:45 to go, South Alabama (12-12, 8-7) hit a free throw, 3-pointer and layup ahead of the final bucket to make an 8-0 run.
The Trojans shot just 31 percent (22-of-72) on the night, but outrebounded the Jaguars 52-43 to keep the game close. Troy trailed by six, 39-33, at halftime, but opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to retake the lead. Troy never gave that lead back until the game-winning shot.
ArJae' Saunders led Troy in scoring with 17 points, on 7-of-24 shooting, with seven rebounds. Banks was also in double figures with 13 points, thanks in large part to 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Caitlyn Ramirez led the Trojans with 15 rebounds while Kristen Emerson had 11, including eight on the offensive end.
Three of Emerson's offensive boards came on one possession in the fourth quarter. That possession started with 4:49 left in the game and ended with an Amanda Mendoza 3-pointer with 3:26 left that put the Trojans up by eight, 61-53, their biggest lead of the fourth quarter. Troy's 10 fourth-quarter offensive rebounds masked a 3-of-18 shooting performance over the final 10 minutes.
Erin Autio led South Alabama with 19 points off the bench, including 14 in the second quarter as South Alabama outscored Troy, 24-11, in the period to take the halftime lead. Troy held Marquita Daniels, the Jaguars' top scorer, to just three points on 1-of-10 shooting.
However, Troy's top scorer, Beverly Kelley, also the Sun Belt's top scorer, also struggled scoring with nine points on 4-of-16 shooting.
South Alabama shot 39 percent (24-of-62) in the game, including 8-of-21 from deep with 9-of-18 from the free throw line. Troy was slightly better with 8-of-20 from deep and 11-of-16 from the free throw line. After shooting 47 percent and building a lead in the first quarter, Troy's shooting percentage decreased in every quarter after.
Troy forced the Jaguars into just 16 turnovers, that after forcing 32 in Trojan Arena earlier this season. South Alabama won that game and swept the season series after Troy had won five straight in the series entering the year.
Troy now turns its attention to a long road trip and a Saturday contest at Appalachian State. The Trojans and Mountaineers will tip off at 12 p.m. CT on ESPN3 from the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.
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