Clutch Shooting Late Propels Troy to Victory Over Georgia State

Saturday, January 18

Atlanta, Ga.

1 p.m.

Troy University

14-3,5-1Sun Belt

Georgia State

4-13,1-5Sun Belt

Troy

Georgia St.

Clutch Shooting Late Propels Troy to Victory Over Georgia State

1/18/2020 4:11:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

ATLANTA – Troy snapped a three skid to Georgia State on Saturday with a 71-57 victory in Atlanta thanks in part to some clutch shooting down the stretch to pull away from the Panthers.

The Trojans shot 41.2 percent from the field on 28-68 shooting while holding Georgia State to just 38 percent on 24-of-63 shooting. Troy struggled early at the foul line, starting the game 1-for-11, including a stretch between the second and third quarters where they missed seven straight free throws before making nine straight to close out the game. They ended the contest shooting 50 percent from the charity stripe. From the 3-point line Troy went 5-for-17 behind two big three-pointers from Janiah Sandifer.

Four Trojans finished the day with double-digit points as Amber Rivers led the way with a game-high 13. She was followed by Japonica James who scored 12 and Alexus Dye and Harriet Winchester who each scored 11. James and Winchester led the way on the glass as James came up one rebound shy of a double-double while Winchester grabbed eight rebounds. As a team Troy outrebounded Georgia State 54-31. Their +23-rebounding margin was Troy's second largest margin of the season, behind +39 performance against AUM back on Dec. 4.

With 3:58 to play and Troy leading by just four, the Trojans found a rhythm they had been missing. James, who had missed eight consecutive free throws in the game, hit back-to-back freebies to extend the lead before Rivers would hit a jumper and Tyasia Moore would score back-to-back shots for her first four points of the game. Winchester and James would follow those buckets up with four free throws before James made on final layup to cap off a 13-2 run over the final four minutes of play to close out the game for Troy.

Records
Troy: 14-3 (5-1 SBC)
Georgia Southern: 4-13 (1-5 SBC)

Quoting Coach Rigby
On the overall outcome of the game
"Anytime you get a road conference win, and we got two on this road trip, it's a big deal and we are very thankful. There were a lot of unexpected things in this game but that's basketball, we can't account for everything. Coach Graf had a great game plan and the players came out and executed it."

Trojan Notables
• After scoring 13-points Rivers is just four points shy of becoming the 24th member of the 1,000 point club at Troy
• The Trojans extended their road winning streak to five. Their 5-game road win streak is one-win shy of tying last season's long road win streak that was snapped against Georgia State
• Rivers tied a career-high with two blocks
• The Trojans had six blocks in the game, the second-most they have had in a game this season
• Kate Rodgers recorded another block, she has 16 on the year, and has now recorded at least one block in five straight games

Up Next
The Trojans will be back at home next weekend for two big games next weekend on Thursday and Saturday. Troy will host Texas State on Thursday at 6 p.m. before hosting UT Arlington on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a battle of first-place teams and a game that could have Sun Belt regular season championship implications.

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