Troy University Athletics
Thursday, December 19
Las Vegas, Nev.
4:30 p.m.
Troy University
8-2,0-0Sun Belt
71
vs
64
Toledo
3-6,0-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Troy
19
20
12
20
71
Toledo
10
17
17
20
64
Women's Basketball Holds Off Late Toledo Run in Las Vegas
12/19/2019 8:05:00 PM | Basketball (W)
LAS VEGAS – Troy opened the 2019 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic with a nail-biting 71-64 victory over Toledo in its first game in the desert on Thursday afternoon. The win pushes the Trojans record to 8-2 on the year and extends its winning streak to five games.
Troy dominated the Toledo Rockets for nearly the entire first-half as they enjoyed a 17-point lead, its largest of the game, midway through the second-quarter before the Rockets put a scare into Troy late in the contest. The Trojans were paced throughout the contest by Kayla Robinson and Jasmine Robinson who combined to score 39 of Troy's 71 points, including 19 combined points in the second half.
After controlling the first 20 minutes of action, Troy found themselves in battle for the just the second time this season. Entering the third, Troy looked to be on pace to cruise to a victory before Toledo began to get going, as they went on a 12-5 run over the course of the final six minutes of the third while Troy went without a field goal for the same span, making just four total field goals in the 10-minute frame, while still holding on to a 51-43 advantage heading into the final frame.
In the fourth Troy was able to slow down the Toledo threat by matching the Rockets point-for-point as each team scored 20 points in the quarter. Jasmine and Kayla played a big role in the final frame as they combined to score 10 of the Trojans 20 points in the quarter. Late in the contest Amber Rivers grabbed a huge offensive rebound, one of her season-high nine boards, with just 33 second remaining that allowed Janiah Sandifer to get to the free throw where she hit one freebie that gave the Trojans a two-possession lead at 68-64 and helped close the door on Toledo and give Troy its eighth win of the season.
Records
Troy: 8-2
Toledo: 3-6
Trojan Spotlight
Kayla and Jasmine Robinson were not going to allow Troy to lose on Thursday as the duo made clutch shot after clutch shot. Kayla led all scorers with 21, tying her season-high that she set back on Nov. 12 at Samford, while Jasmine added 18 of her own. Adding to their already impressive stat lines, Jasmine went a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe while adding six rebounds, and assist and a steal. Kayla went 4-of-5 at the line with five rebounds.
Quoting Coach Rigby
On the gritty performance late
"We knew they weren't going to go away. They are a good team that's played a very tough schedule this season. They've got too many shooters so we couldn't count them out but our team just kept battling. It was important game for us. Possession after possession it was like the game slowed down for us, especially on defense and we just did what we are supposed to do."
On having a strong back court to lean on in close games
"It's a luxury because first of all our turnovers stayed low because we have experience there handling the ball. But in Jasmine and Kayla we have experience in tight games. Coach C kept subbing Kayla in on offense and Tiyah [Johnson] in on defense and late in the game it worked beautifully because every time Kayla came in she scored."
Trojan Notables
• Troy's five-game winning streak is its longest since winning eight straight last season between Dec. 19 and Jan. 17
• For just the second time this season Troy only had two players score in double-figures. Last time that happened was against AUM
• Troy won its first game of the season when losing the opening tip. They also improved to 7-0 on the year when leading at the half
• Kate Rodgers had a big time block late in the fourth-quarter that helped keep Toledo from scoring an easy layup
• Troy improved to 8-1 in the month of December since the 2018-19 season
Up Next
Troy will conclude its Las Vegas Holiday Hoops trip on Friday, Dec. 20 when they take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT).
Follow TROY Women's Basketball
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Join The Conversation: #GrindToShine | #OneTROY
Troy dominated the Toledo Rockets for nearly the entire first-half as they enjoyed a 17-point lead, its largest of the game, midway through the second-quarter before the Rockets put a scare into Troy late in the contest. The Trojans were paced throughout the contest by Kayla Robinson and Jasmine Robinson who combined to score 39 of Troy's 71 points, including 19 combined points in the second half.
After controlling the first 20 minutes of action, Troy found themselves in battle for the just the second time this season. Entering the third, Troy looked to be on pace to cruise to a victory before Toledo began to get going, as they went on a 12-5 run over the course of the final six minutes of the third while Troy went without a field goal for the same span, making just four total field goals in the 10-minute frame, while still holding on to a 51-43 advantage heading into the final frame.
In the fourth Troy was able to slow down the Toledo threat by matching the Rockets point-for-point as each team scored 20 points in the quarter. Jasmine and Kayla played a big role in the final frame as they combined to score 10 of the Trojans 20 points in the quarter. Late in the contest Amber Rivers grabbed a huge offensive rebound, one of her season-high nine boards, with just 33 second remaining that allowed Janiah Sandifer to get to the free throw where she hit one freebie that gave the Trojans a two-possession lead at 68-64 and helped close the door on Toledo and give Troy its eighth win of the season.
Records
Troy: 8-2
Toledo: 3-6
Trojan Spotlight
Kayla and Jasmine Robinson were not going to allow Troy to lose on Thursday as the duo made clutch shot after clutch shot. Kayla led all scorers with 21, tying her season-high that she set back on Nov. 12 at Samford, while Jasmine added 18 of her own. Adding to their already impressive stat lines, Jasmine went a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe while adding six rebounds, and assist and a steal. Kayla went 4-of-5 at the line with five rebounds.
Quoting Coach Rigby
On the gritty performance late
"We knew they weren't going to go away. They are a good team that's played a very tough schedule this season. They've got too many shooters so we couldn't count them out but our team just kept battling. It was important game for us. Possession after possession it was like the game slowed down for us, especially on defense and we just did what we are supposed to do."
On having a strong back court to lean on in close games
"It's a luxury because first of all our turnovers stayed low because we have experience there handling the ball. But in Jasmine and Kayla we have experience in tight games. Coach C kept subbing Kayla in on offense and Tiyah [Johnson] in on defense and late in the game it worked beautifully because every time Kayla came in she scored."
Trojan Notables
• Troy's five-game winning streak is its longest since winning eight straight last season between Dec. 19 and Jan. 17
• For just the second time this season Troy only had two players score in double-figures. Last time that happened was against AUM
• Troy won its first game of the season when losing the opening tip. They also improved to 7-0 on the year when leading at the half
• Kate Rodgers had a big time block late in the fourth-quarter that helped keep Toledo from scoring an easy layup
• Troy improved to 8-1 in the month of December since the 2018-19 season
Up Next
Troy will conclude its Las Vegas Holiday Hoops trip on Friday, Dec. 20 when they take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT).
Follow TROY Women's Basketball
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Join The Conversation: #GrindToShine | #OneTROY
Team Stats
TROY
UT
FG%
.324
.288
3FG%
.176
.257
FT%
.667
.700
RB
51
43
TO
16
22
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Basketball (W)G
/ Basketball (W)G
/ Basketball (W)
F
/ Basketball (W)
G
/ Basketball (W)Player Postgame Press Conference (Fortuna Ngnawo, Saniya Jackson) - Mississippi Valley State
Thursday, November 06
Troy vs. Mississippi Valley State (Full Highlights)
Thursday, November 06
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Mississippi Valley State
Thursday, November 06
Troy vs. Toledo (Full Highlights)
Monday, November 03