Robinson’s Career Night Leads Troy Past Arkansas State

Thursday, March 2

Troy, Ala.

5:15 PM

Troy University

19-9, 12-5

Arkansas State

6-23, 4-13

Arkansas State

Troy

Photo by: Chris Davis

Robinson’s Career Night Leads Troy Past Arkansas State

3/2/2017 8:34:00 PM | Basketball (W)

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By: Wes Johnson

TROY, Alabama – Freshman Kayla Robinson scored a career-high 23 points as the Troy women's basketball team scored 35 points in the third quarter to pull away from Arkansas State 90-77 on Thursday in Trojan Arena.

Robinson, whose previous career-high of 19 points came on Dec. 14 against Nicholls State, scored her entire allotment in the final three quarters on 11-of-17 shooting. Senior ArJae' Saunders finished with 19 points and four assists. Caitlyn Ramirez turned in her 13^th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, the 14^th consecutive game with 12 or more points.

With both teams struggling to shoot the ball in the first quarter, Arkansas State managed to break down the Troy defense long enough to string together a 15-0 run after the Trojans scored the first five points of the contest. A pair of 3-pointers by Amanda Mendoza kept Troy conscious and trailing by only six, 16-10, at the end of the period.

Robinson burst onto the scene midway through the second quarter to jump start the offense with consecutive baskets giving Troy a 26-22 lead. Robinson missed her first two shots, but misfired on just four of her last 15.

The Trojans dominated in the paint outscoring Arkansas State 48-22. Paced by 17 points off turnovers, Troy scored 35 points in the third quarter alone. After hitting just 23 percent from the field in the first quarter, Troy shot 41.3 percent for the game.

QUOTABLE
"It was definitely good to get this win at Trojan Arena against a good team," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "We are so proud of the effort we had from freshman Kayla Robinson as our high scorer, she did some really great things for us. She hasn't been completely healthy, but we saw some really big strides from her this week. What I'm really proud of is that in the second half the team looked to really be having fun together for the first time in a really long time."

UP NEXT
Troy plays its final home game of the regular season on Saturday against league leaders Little Rock. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the Senior Day ceremony will be held at halftime of the men's game, which is set to immediately follow the conclusion of the women's contest.

NOTABLE
• For the first time this season, Dajia Williams and La'Tia Fils-Aime' started along side one another in the post for the Trojans.

• Freshmen scored 31 of Troy's 90 points.

• Ramirez contributed three steals and two blocks on top of her 13 points and 12 rebounds.

• Depending on Saturday's result against Little Rock as well as others around the league, Troy can enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament from a No. 2 to a No. 5 seed.

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.