Trojans survive tough battle at Coastal Carolina Friday

Friday, February 26

Conway, S.C.

5 p.m.

Troy University

18-5,14-2Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina

3-13,0-12Sun Belt

Troy

Coastal Carolina

Trojans survive tough battle at Coastal Carolina Friday

2/26/2021 8:19:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

CONWAY, S.C. – A strong second-half effort pushed the Troy women's basketball team over the finish line on Friday, with a 97-82 victory over Coastal Carolina. The win improved Troy's record to 18-5 overall and 14-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Despite Troy's (18-5, 14-2 SBC) 15-point victory, the game was much closer that the final score showed. Coastal Carolina (3-13, 0-12 SBC) stood its ground all night, matching all of Troy's runs. The two programs each shot 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from the behind-the-arc. Troy gained the advantage from the charity stripe where it shot 75 percent to Coastal's 54 percent. The Chanticleers led for a little over five minutes in the first quarter and never let Troy enjoy a double-digit lead for more than a possession until the final minute of the game.

Coastal Carolina won the points in the paint battle, 42-34, while Troy had the decisive edge in points of turnovers, 24-8. Troy was led offensively by Alexus Dye who had a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Jasmine Robinson added 16-points while Felmas Koranga and Janiah Sandifer each added 13. The Chanticleers were led by a pair of 20-point scorers in Kaylin West and Aja Blount. Blount also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds.

"I'm proud of our team's effort and determination, head coach Chanda Rigby said. "If their determination wasn't 100 percent, we would have never won this game against Coastal on their home court. I want to hand it to [Coastal], they had a great game plan and were hitting big shots. This was. Avery tough game to win but it was good for our team to, especially at this time of year, to be put in this position and have to fight through a battle like that."

How It Happened
The first quarter on Friday was very different than the two games earlier in the year in Troy. After outscoring the Chanticleers 56-20 in the two first quarters in Troy, the Trojans only led Coastal Carolina by five in Conway. The Chanticleers opened the game grabbing an early 11-6 lead before Troy ended the quarter on a 14-4 run.

The Trojan offense seemed to come to life to open the second quarter as Janiah Sandifer, Felmas Koranga, Jasmine Robinson and Jhileiya Dunlap all scored to push Troy's led to double-digits for the first time in the game. Coastal didn't back down though as they quickly cut Troy's lead back to just six before Troy finally got it back to 10 points entering halftime.

Troy enjoyed a 13-point lead after a Robinson triple but once again Coastal Carolina cut it to single digits. The back-and-forth affair continued for the remainder of the contest until the final minute of the game when Troy turned a few defensive stops into transition points to score 14 of the final 17 points of the ball game and walk away with a 97-82 victory.

Who Stood Out
Alexus Dye was all over the court on Friday with a game-high 23-points and 12 rebounds. This was Dye's first 20+ point outing since scoring 30 at Middle Tennessee back on Dec. 17. Dye was 9-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Dye extended her NCAA leading double-double total with her 18th of the season. Dye added two steals and an assist to her total.

Notables
• Troy improved to 7-3 overall against Coastal Carolina and 2-2 when the game is played in Conway, S.C.
• This was Troy's third straight win over Coastal Carolina this season
• Alexus Dye recorded her 18th double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds
• Troy scored at least 90 points for the eighth time this season
• Sharonica Hartsfield led the team with six assists
• Troy outrebounded Coastal 45-41

Up Next
Troy and Coastal Carolina will meet again on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CT). Saturday's game has been moved from ESPN+ to ESPN3. The link for the video stream can be found on our schedule page.

Radio Streaming
The Troy women's basketball games on Feb. 27 will only be streamed live on TroyTrojans.com with Troy baseball moving to WTBF. Dan Peck will still be on the call. The move off WTBF ensures that all both men's and women's basketball and baseball will be streamed live.

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