Troy Drops First-Place Showdown at James Madison

Saturday, January 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

Troy University

11-8,6-2Sun Belt

James Madison

17-3,7-1Sun Belt

Troy

James Madison

Troy Drops First-Place Showdown at James Madison

1/21/2023 5:21:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite a career-best 33 points from Makayia Hallmon and a 29-point fourth quarter, Troy came up one point short in an 80-79 loss at James Madison Saturday afternoon at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in a battle between the two top teams in the Sun Belt Conference.

Hallmon hit two 3-pointers in the final seven seconds of the game, including one with two seconds to play, but James Madison (17-3, 7-1 SBC) was able to run off the final two ticks on the clock to escape with the victory and first place in the league by a game over the Trojans (11-8, 6-2).

The 33-point effort from Hallmon was the largest output by a Trojan in more than a year and was almost enough to rally Troy from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter. She scored 25 of her points in the second half, hitting 11-of-18 attempts from the floor. The loss snapped Troy's six-game winning streak and eight-game Sun Belt road winning streak.

Despite the loss, the Trojans extended their program record streak of 75-plus points to 11 games. Troy's 79 points are the most allowed by JMU this year, which includes a matchup against No. 13 North Carolina.

Saturday's matchup was the only one on the books in the regular season between the Sun Belt's top two teams in the NCAA NET Rankings. The next time they would meet would be in Pensacola in the Sun Belt Tournament.

The Dukes led by nine, 65-56, with 8:14 to play in the game before the Trojans started to chip away. A Hallmon stepback jumper pulled Troy to within three, 68-65, with five minutes to play, but Peyton McDaniel answered with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to six.

With a 3-point lead and 52 seconds remaining, McDaniel missed the second of two free throws; however, she got her own rebound and put in a layup 19 seconds later to give the Dukes a 5-point lead.

McDaniel led JMU with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Kiki Jefferson added 21 points and eight boards. Caroline Germond dished out a game-high 10 assists.

Tai'Sheka Porchia was the only other Trojan in double figures, as she finished with 16 points. Amber Leggett led the Trojans with eight rebounds but struggled offensively for the first time this season going 0-for-5 on field goal attempts. Sharonica Hartsfield dished out eight dimes, while Hallmon had four steals.

The difference in the game came from beyond the arc, where the Dukes hit 11 3-pointers compared to the Trojans' six.

Troy led 30-24 with 5:30 to play in the opening half, but James Madison ended the quarter on a 16-4 run to take a 40-34 lead into the break. The Dukes followed with eight of the first nine points in the third quarter before Troy went on an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to set up the fourth-quarter dramatics.

The Trojans return home to Trojan Arena next week for games against South Alabama (Thursday) and Georgia Southern (Saturday).