Women’s Basketball Opens SBC Title Defense Thursday in Trojan Arena

TROY, Ala. – Winners of 34 of its last 38 Sun Belt Conference games, the 2022 regular season champion Troy Trojans open league play Thursday evening, hosting Southern Miss in Trojan Arena at 6 p.m.

Troy (5-6) has won three straight Sun Belt titles, claiming the tournament championship in 2021 and the 2020 and 2022 regular season titles. All told, under head coach Chanda Rigby, the Trojans have won a Sun Belt championship in five of the last seven seasons.

Rigby challenged her squad with a demanding non-conference schedule this season which featured eight of the 11 games away from Trojan Arena, three against Power Five teams and six against teams with NET rankings of 105 or better. Additionally, two of Troy's losses have come in overtime.

Nia Daniel enters Sun Belt play 10^th in the league averaging 13.0 points per game, just ahead of three other teammates who check-in 11^th, 13^th and 14^th in scoring in the Sun Belt to highlight Troy's balanced offensive attack – Makayia Hallmon averages 12.7 points per game, Tai'Sheka Porchia checks in with 12.4 per game and Ja'Mia Hollings drops 12.3 points per game.

Troy ranks second in the Sun Belt and 18^th nationally, averaging 81.9 points per game, a stark contrast from the 62.6 points per game averaged by Southern Miss (7-4) through 11 games this season. The Golden Eagles ended their non-conference run with a pair of victories out West defeating UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

One of the new members to the Sun Belt, Southern Miss does not have a lot of history with Troy having played just three times and not since a Nov. 21, 2003, meeting. However, the teams do have one common opponent this season, both having played at Samford, where the Trojans came away with a season-opening victory while the Golden Eagles fell in early December. Southern Miss posted a 9-8 mark in Conference USA last year and advanced to the second round of the conference tournament.

Domonique Davis (20.8) and Melyia Grayson (13.3) are the lone Golden Eagles averaging double figures on the year, while Grayson also adds a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.

As typical with a Troy squad, the Trojans are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, leading the nation with 54.1 rebounds per game and 24.5 offensive rebounds per game. Hollings paces the Trojans with 7.5 per game and Porchia is right behind at 7.1 per game.

Women’s Basketball Opens SBC Title Defense Thursday in Trojan Arena

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Players Mentioned

Nia Daniel

Makayia Hallmon

Ja'Mia Hollings

Tai'Sheka Porchia

Troy University Athletics