Troy University Athletics
Thursday, February 11
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
13-5,9-2Sun Belt
85
vs
45
South Alabama
11-8,8-5Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
South Alabama
10
13
9
13
45
Troy
18
17
26
24
85
Women's Basketball Routs South Alabama in Annual Rivalry Game
2/11/2021 9:36:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – An explosive second-half led Troy women's basketball to a dominant, 85-45 victory over in-state rival South Alabama Thursday night inside Trojan Arena. The Trojans led from the opening tip and outscored the Jaguars by 28 points in the final two quarters. Troy's 40-point victory was the largest margin of victory in the series' 51-game history.
Troy (13-5, 9-2 SBC) gained some separation in the Sun Belt East Division standings with its win over the second-place team in the East Division, South Alabama (11-8, 8-5 SBC). On the night Troy shot 52 percent from the field on 36-of-69 shooting. The Trojans were led offensively by Tiyah Johnson who scored a game-high 21-points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Alexus Dye added to her impressive double-double streak. The nation's leader in double-doubles earned her 10th straight, 15th on the season, with her 16-point and 11 rebound performance.
The Trojans held South Alabama to its lowest field goal percentage of the season at 21 percent on 16-of-73 shooting. The Jaguars were led by Jaylen Mallard who had 12-points on the night.
"It all started on the defensive end, head coach Chanda Rigby said. "[South] has a couple of great players and a lot of great three-point shooters. Coach Courtney Simmons had the scout this week and she prepared them all week to defend what we needed to defend to be successful this game. I'm proud of the team for taking the coaching she gave them. They took it to heart and they gave it everything they had to defend the three-point line and defend the post players that were so strong inside."
How It Happened
At the opening tip it looked as though Troy was about to go on one of its patented fast starts and blow the game open in the first couple minutes when Jasmine Robinson found Alexus Dye right out the tipoff for two. The Trojans followed that up with back-to-back buckets from Tiyah Johnson to take an early 6-0 lead. However, following the quick start both teams started to cool off. South was only able to score a total of 10 points in the quarter while Troy ended with 18.
At the start of the second quarter, Troy used a strong defensive effort to hold South scoreless for the first four minute of the contest while also scoring the first six points. The Jaguars got a spark of their bench from freshman Jenelle Jones who scored eight unanswered points in less than a minute. Jones came into the contest averaging just one point per game. After weathering the Jones run, the Trojans ended the half on an 8-5 run, highlighted by a Felmas Koranga buzzer beater to end the half.
Troy was on a completely different level coming out of the locker room, looking like a team on a mission to put the game away as quickly as possible. The Trojans opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, and similar to the start of the second, held South Alabama scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter. Following the first Jaguar basket of the second-half, Troy once again put its foot on the gas and increased its lead. The Trojans scored 18 of the final 23 points, while allowing South to score just nine total points in the third quarter.
With all the momentum on their side, and a 29-point advantage, Troy continued its stellar play in the final quarter. The Trojans opened the fourth on a 6-3 run, highlighted by four quick points from Felmas Koranga. After a mini 5-0 run for South Alabama, Troy began its final run of the night. After six points from Alexus Dye and Tyasia Moore, freshman Janiah Ellis, with only four minutes left in the game, kept Troy's 270 consecutive games with a made three-pointer in tacked when she drilled the team's first three of the night. For good measure, Ellis followed the team's first triple with its second a minute later. In total, Troy outscored South Alabama 24-13 in the fourth to walk away with an 85-45 win, its third straight over South Alabama.
Who Stood Out
Although Janiah Sandifer didn't score much on Thursday, she was given the biggest task of the night, shut down South's best player. Sandifer, who has been Troy's best on-ball defender since game one, was stuck like glue to Jones, who entered the night leading South in scoring at 11.9 points per game. Sandifer shut down Jones who ended the night with just one total point in 30 minutes of action.
Quoting Coach Rigby
On Janiah Sandifer's lock down defense
"I cannot remember having a more disciplined, determined and skilled defender than Janiah Sandifer. She does it every night but for Savannah Jones to only have one point, she really took it to another level. I'm really proud of her. I hope she gets Sun Belt defensive player of the year because she deserves it."
Notables
• Troy improves to 27-24 all-time against South Alabama and 16-7 all-time at home
• Troy has won three straight over South Alabama and 9 of the last 12
• This is the first 20+ point victory, for either side, since Jan. 29, 2012 when South Alabama defeated Troy 26-63. It's Troy's first 20+ point win over South Alabama since Jan. 26, 2011
• Troy's 40-point win is the largest margin of victory for either team in the series' history
• The 45 points allowed is the fewest we've allowed in a Sun Belt game since Dec. 29, 2017 when we gave up 47 to Ga. Southern
• Joining Johnson (21) and Dye (16) with double-digit points were Tyasia Moore (14) and Felmas Koranga (10)
• Troy outrebounded South Alabama 54-41 (+13)
• Troy led for 39:55. The only five seconds that the game was tied was at the opening tipoff
Up Next
Troy and South Alabama will conclude its rivalry week showdown on Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Schedule Update
Troy's Feb. 16 game at Georgia State has been updated once again. Troy and Georgia State have agreed to move the game time up three hours to 1 p.m. (CT).
Follow TROY Women's Basketball
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Join The Conversation: #OneTROY
Troy (13-5, 9-2 SBC) gained some separation in the Sun Belt East Division standings with its win over the second-place team in the East Division, South Alabama (11-8, 8-5 SBC). On the night Troy shot 52 percent from the field on 36-of-69 shooting. The Trojans were led offensively by Tiyah Johnson who scored a game-high 21-points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Alexus Dye added to her impressive double-double streak. The nation's leader in double-doubles earned her 10th straight, 15th on the season, with her 16-point and 11 rebound performance.
The Trojans held South Alabama to its lowest field goal percentage of the season at 21 percent on 16-of-73 shooting. The Jaguars were led by Jaylen Mallard who had 12-points on the night.
"It all started on the defensive end, head coach Chanda Rigby said. "[South] has a couple of great players and a lot of great three-point shooters. Coach Courtney Simmons had the scout this week and she prepared them all week to defend what we needed to defend to be successful this game. I'm proud of the team for taking the coaching she gave them. They took it to heart and they gave it everything they had to defend the three-point line and defend the post players that were so strong inside."
⏪ Let's rewind tonights 40 point victory over 🚫 and see how we started rivalry week out in style#Beat🚫 | #OneTROY⚔🏀 #Play4Kay pic.twitter.com/7Vxg30jC4G
— Troy Women's Basketball (@TroyTrojansWBB) February 12, 2021
How It Happened
At the opening tip it looked as though Troy was about to go on one of its patented fast starts and blow the game open in the first couple minutes when Jasmine Robinson found Alexus Dye right out the tipoff for two. The Trojans followed that up with back-to-back buckets from Tiyah Johnson to take an early 6-0 lead. However, following the quick start both teams started to cool off. South was only able to score a total of 10 points in the quarter while Troy ended with 18.
At the start of the second quarter, Troy used a strong defensive effort to hold South scoreless for the first four minute of the contest while also scoring the first six points. The Jaguars got a spark of their bench from freshman Jenelle Jones who scored eight unanswered points in less than a minute. Jones came into the contest averaging just one point per game. After weathering the Jones run, the Trojans ended the half on an 8-5 run, highlighted by a Felmas Koranga buzzer beater to end the half.
Troy was on a completely different level coming out of the locker room, looking like a team on a mission to put the game away as quickly as possible. The Trojans opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, and similar to the start of the second, held South Alabama scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter. Following the first Jaguar basket of the second-half, Troy once again put its foot on the gas and increased its lead. The Trojans scored 18 of the final 23 points, while allowing South to score just nine total points in the third quarter.
With all the momentum on their side, and a 29-point advantage, Troy continued its stellar play in the final quarter. The Trojans opened the fourth on a 6-3 run, highlighted by four quick points from Felmas Koranga. After a mini 5-0 run for South Alabama, Troy began its final run of the night. After six points from Alexus Dye and Tyasia Moore, freshman Janiah Ellis, with only four minutes left in the game, kept Troy's 270 consecutive games with a made three-pointer in tacked when she drilled the team's first three of the night. For good measure, Ellis followed the team's first triple with its second a minute later. In total, Troy outscored South Alabama 24-13 in the fourth to walk away with an 85-45 win, its third straight over South Alabama.
Who Stood Out
Although Janiah Sandifer didn't score much on Thursday, she was given the biggest task of the night, shut down South's best player. Sandifer, who has been Troy's best on-ball defender since game one, was stuck like glue to Jones, who entered the night leading South in scoring at 11.9 points per game. Sandifer shut down Jones who ended the night with just one total point in 30 minutes of action.
Quoting Coach Rigby
On Janiah Sandifer's lock down defense
"I cannot remember having a more disciplined, determined and skilled defender than Janiah Sandifer. She does it every night but for Savannah Jones to only have one point, she really took it to another level. I'm really proud of her. I hope she gets Sun Belt defensive player of the year because she deserves it."
Notables
• Troy improves to 27-24 all-time against South Alabama and 16-7 all-time at home
• Troy has won three straight over South Alabama and 9 of the last 12
• This is the first 20+ point victory, for either side, since Jan. 29, 2012 when South Alabama defeated Troy 26-63. It's Troy's first 20+ point win over South Alabama since Jan. 26, 2011
• Troy's 40-point win is the largest margin of victory for either team in the series' history
• The 45 points allowed is the fewest we've allowed in a Sun Belt game since Dec. 29, 2017 when we gave up 47 to Ga. Southern
• Joining Johnson (21) and Dye (16) with double-digit points were Tyasia Moore (14) and Felmas Koranga (10)
• Troy outrebounded South Alabama 54-41 (+13)
• Troy led for 39:55. The only five seconds that the game was tied was at the opening tipoff
Up Next
Troy and South Alabama will conclude its rivalry week showdown on Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Schedule Update
Troy's Feb. 16 game at Georgia State has been updated once again. Troy and Georgia State have agreed to move the game time up three hours to 1 p.m. (CT).
Follow TROY Women's Basketball
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Join The Conversation: #OneTROY
Team Stats
USA
TROY
FG%
.219
.522
3FG%
.207
.250
FT%
.500
.733
RB
41
54
TO
20
17
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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/ Basketball (W)Ashley Beverly Kelley - Troy University Sports Hall of Fame
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Thursday, April 03