Offense Meets Defense as Troy Returns Home on Thursday

TROY, Alabama – The Sun Belt's top offense and top defense meet on Thursday as the Troy women's basketball team returns home to host UL Lafayette at 5:15 p.m. inside Trojan Arena. The game is the second to last at home this season with Saturday's game against ULM marking Senior Day.

Fans can purchase a Final Four Four Pack, which will be available on both Thursday and Saturday. The Four Pack includes four general admission tickets and four $5 concession stand vouchers for just $40. In addition, the first 500 fans at Thursday's game will receive free Troy pom poms.

Links to live video, live stats and free live audio can all be found at TroyTrojans.com. Fans in Troy can also hear the game on WTBF 94.7 FM. For live, in-game updates on Twitter, follow @TroyTrojansWBB.

Troy (13-12, 8-8) is coming off of a 100-89 overtime win at Appalachian State on Saturday. The Trojans let a 16-point halftime lead slip away, but oustcored the Mountaineers in overtime, 15-4, and outrebounded App State in the final five minutes, 12-3.

Troy scored 100 points for the sixth time this season, breaking the school record. Troy upped its season average to 82.6 points per game, the sixth best in the NCAA and the best in the Sun Belt for the fourth straight season. Troy has scored 100 points 12 times in those four seasons.

Ashley Beverly Kelley led the Trojans with 32 points at App State, her fourth 30-point game of the season and the 10th of her career. The Sun Belt's leading scorer upped her season numbers to 20.4 per game overall and 21.4 per Sun Belt game. Beverly Kelley also dished out a game-high eight assists, pulled down five rebounds and hit five 3-pointers in the win.

ArJae' Saunders was also impressive, scoring a career-high 29 points, thanks in large part to 11-of-15 from the free throw line. Saunders moved her season average to 12.6 points per game, the eighth best mark in the Sun Belt. The junior is averaging 16.7 points over her last 12 games, moving her season average up from the 6.4 points per game it was at before that span.

Beverly Kelley and Saunders, along with Caitlyn Ramirez at 12.1 points per game, make Troy the only team in the Sun Belt with three players averaging over 12.0 points per game.

UL Lafayette (18-7, 11-5) comes into Thursday in third place in the Sun Belt standings after wins at UT Arlington and Texas State last week. The Ragin' Cajuns gave up just 42 and 47 points, respectively, in those games and allow a Sun Belt-low 54.8 per game on the season.

However, prior to those two wins, the Cajuns lost three straight to Appalachian State, Little Rock and Arkansas State. The Cajuns were 7-1 in Sun Belt play after beating Troy at home on January 23, but junior guard Jaylyn Gordon hasn't played since then and the Cajuns are 4-4 over that span.

Gordon was averaging 14.9 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per game. She is one of three Cajun guards averaging double figures, joining senior Keke Veal at 15.9 per game and senior Kia Wilridge at 11.7 per game.

The Cajuns won that first meeting, 56-53, after Troy led much of the game, including by as many as 15 points late in the second quarter. The all-time series between Troy and UL Lafayette is tied 9-9, with Troy holding a 7-1 record in Troy. The Trojans have won seven straight on their home court against the Cajuns, with the lone loss coming in 2005-06.

For more information on Troy women's basketball, follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyTrojansWBB.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Beverly Kelley

Caitlyn Ramirez

ArJae' Saunders