Troy Falls Short in Sun Belt Championship Against UT Arlington

Monday, March 7

Pensacola, Fla.

1 p.m.

Troy University

24-8,13-2Sun Belt

UT Arlington

20-7,11-4Sun Belt

UT Arlington

Troy

Troy Falls Short in Sun Belt Championship Against UT Arlington

3/7/2022 4:34:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Despite a second-half push, the Troy Women's Basketball team fell short in the Sun Belt Tournament Championship to UT Arlington, 76-61, Monday at the Pensacola Bay Center.

In an effort to climb back into the contest, Troy (24-8, 13-2 Sun Belt) outscored the Mavericks 18-12 in the third quarter, but the push was not enough to overcome a 19-point deficit at the half.

Starr Jacobs led UTA (20-7, 11-4 Sun Belt) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. For Troy, Felmas Koranga paced the way with 13 points and 11 rebounds, good for her 16^th double-double of the season.

How It Happened
Koranga made the first bucket of the contest, but back-to-back threes from Katie Ferrel saw the Mavericks take an early advantage. A three-pointer from De'sha Benjamin gave UTA a 12-point lead, 25-13, at the end of the first quarter.

UTA continued to balloon its lead in the second quarter as Troy struggled to grab rebounds. A Maverick defensive rebound off a missed jumper from Jasmine Robinson allowed Ferrell to knock down a jumper and give UTA a 34-19 lead at the 5:09 mark. A triple from Camryn Hawkins gave the Mavericks its largest lead of the game, 43-19, before a pair makes from Tiyah Johnson cut it to 43-24 at the half.

However, the Trojans fought back in the third period, holding UTA without a field goal for the first seven minutes. Troy cut the once 24-point lead down to 13 points, 55-42, off a pair of layups from Jhileiya Dunlap to end the quarter.

Ultimately, UTA's hot start was too big to overcome. Troy chipped away at the lead, bringing it to as few as 11, 66-55, off a Janiah Sandifer layup at the 4:11 mark. A pair of makes from the charity stripe by the Maverick's Claire Chastain would secure the 76-61 win for UTA.

Quotable – Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"I am heartbroken for this team. We wanted to represent Troy with another championship. UT Arlington did an exceptional job, and they outplayed us in the first half. We wish them a lot of luck in the NCAA Tournament. Our players fought back. We turned a lot of things around in the second half, and we did not give up."

Notable

Tina Stephens finished the contest with 10 points and 14 rebounds, good for her fifth double-double of the season.
Felmas Koranga and Stephens were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Trojans were outrebounded, 51-46.
Tiyah Johnson closed out the contest tallying 11 points, marking her 15^th double-digit scoring game of the season.