Troy Survives Georgia Southern

Saturday, January 7

Statesboro, Ga.

1 PM

Troy University

10-4, 3-0

Georgia Southern

4-10, 0-3

Troy

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Chris Davis

1/7/2017 4:42:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Wes Johnson

STATESBORO, Georgia – Leading by 20 points late in the third quarter, the Troy women's basketball saw its advantage slowly dwindle to just two in the final minute, but pulled out an 89-86 win over Georgia Southern in Hanner Fieldhouse on Saturday.

With the victory, the Trojans are 10-4 for the first time since 1996-97 and 3-0 in conference play for the first time sine 1998-99. Under Chanda Rigby, Troy has won its first three road Sun Belt games twice in the last three years.

The Trojans went up by 20, 70-50, with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter when Georgia Southern (4-10, 0-3 SBC) started its comeback effort. Troy made 10-of-20 3-pointers in the first half but managed to convert just 1-of-12 in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles, however, used three long 3-pointers including one from Alexis Sams to cut the lead to 86-84 with 49 seconds remaining in the contest.

Senior Jayla Chills made a fadeaway jumper and a free throw in the last 21 seconds to put the match just out of reach. Chills finished with 13 points and six rebounds, her eighth double-digit scoring performance of the season.

A day prior to her 19^th birthday and with more than 30 family members in attendance, Clyo, Ga. (35 miles from Statesboro) native Kayla Robinson scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Amanda Mendoza knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 12 points. Claresa Banks added 13 points and six rebounds while Caitlyn Ramirez collected 11 rebounds and chipped in with nine points, three steals and two blocks.

UP NEXT
After opening the season with three consecutive road conference games, the Trojans return home to host Texas State (Jan. 12) and UTA (Jan. 14). UTA currently leads the conference standings with a 4-0 mark.

NOTEABLE
• Troy forced 21 turnovers in the game, the sixth straight game the team has forced its opponent into 20-plus turnovers.

• Georgia Southern opened the game by making its first nine field goals. The Eagles were 10-for-13 in the first quarter though Troy led 28-25.

• 12 players made a field goal for the Trojans.

• Troy's bench outscored the Eagles' bench 47-12.

For more information on Troy women's basketball, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyTrojansWBB.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.