Troy Suffers Tough Loss at Georgia State

Thursday, March 1

Atlanta, Ga.

4 P.M.

Troy University

16-12, 11-6SBC

Georgia State

8-20, 4-13SBC

TROY

Georgia State

3/1/2018 7:12:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Wes Johnson

ATLANTA, Georgia – Entering Thursday, Georgia State led the Sun Belt in free throws made while Troy led the country in fouls. That narrative played out on the court as the Panthers outscored the Trojans by 14 points at the free throw line en route to an 85-78 victory at the GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State (8-20, 4-13) went 21-of-31 from the charity stripe as Janessa Murphy and Kierra Henry scored 25 points each. Murphy, who scorched the Trojans for 25 points in the first meeting between the schools on Dec. 31, was 7 of 11 from 3-point range.

Troy (16-12, 11-6 Sun Belt) led for 18:16 of the game, but fell behind with 7:08 to play and made just two baskets over the next six minutes of action. Jasmine Sanders led the Trojans with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Trojans trailed by three at halftime, 38-35, but a 3-pointer by Sanders right out of the gate in the second half tied the game. Troy pulled ahead by eight points in the third period before watching its lead disappear in the fourth. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak in the GSU Sports Arena.

Four Trojans scored in double figure including Sky'Lynn Holmes, who recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Kayla Robinson finished with 13 while Amber Rivers added 10.

Troy shot 41.6 percent (32-77) from the field, but made just 7 of 25 shots from 3-point range (28 percent). Georgia State was 28-for-66 (42.4 percent) from the field.

UP NEXT
Troy closes out the regular season at Georgia Southern on Saturday. Tip is set for 1 p.m.

NOTEWORTHY
• With the loss, Troy is a lock for the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament set to begin on Wednesday. The Trojans entered as the No. 4 seed two years ago and won the first of two straight tournament titles.

• Jasmine Sanders has scored in double figures in five straight games.

• Sky'Lynn Holmes scored the first six points of the game for Troy – all six off of offensive rebounds. Holmes entered the game fifth in the Sun Belt averaging 8.1 rebounds per game and finished with 17 on Thursday.

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