Troy University Athletics
Troy University
2-7,0-0Sun Belt
Stephen F. Austin
6-5,2-0WAC
Pair of 20-Point Performances Propels Troy to Victory
12/20/2023 6:30:00 PM | Basketball (W)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of 20-point performances from Nia Daniel (21) and Ja'Mia Hollings (20) within the F&M Bank Arena on Wednesday evening propelled the Troy women's basketball program to its second win, 98-78, over Stephen F. Austin.
A second victory puts Troy at 2-7 on a night where 11 players contributed to the scoreboard with a field goal percentage of 46.4. Meanwhile, the Lumberjacks (6-5) couldn't get past their 27 turnovers as they dropped their third straight.
Outside the offensive explosions from Daniel, she also swiped away a team-high four steals and grabbed five rebounds. Additionally, Tai'Sheka Porchia managed 17 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Leilani Guion came off the bench for 10 points on 3-of-6 from the field.
Trinity Moore managed a 20-point performance on 10-of-14 from the field and eight rebounds to boost while playing just 25 minutes. Most of the numbers came from the starters, as only four players checked in from the bench to score 21 points – starters accounted for 76.2 percent of the minutes.
Put A Bow on It
The Lumberjacks managed to outscore the Trojans 24-13 to cut the deficit heading into the locker room to just five, 48-43. It looked like SFA had entirely changed the momentum when they came out of the break to bring the Troy lead to one, 48-47, when Tyler Mccliment-Call scored a lay-in on the fastbreak 1:30 into the third.
The momentum shifted to Troy nearly one minute later when Daniel grabbed the rebound and took it coast-to-coast for the driving lay-in, which sparked an 8-0 run, 56-47, that ended on another Daniel bucket with 7:00 remaining.
Troy controlled the remainder of the ballgame, pushing the lead to 23 points, 82-59, at the buzzer when Makayia Hallmon banged in a triple.
Despite the quiet fourth quarter from both sides, Troy managed to get seven players involved as it seized the game's largest lead, 90-65, when Zay Dyer grabbed the offensive board and scored with 6:26 left. From there, Troy maintained to walk away with the 98-78 victory.
Couldn't Ask for A Better Start
The Trojans made their presence known early when they jumped out to a 7-0 advantage through the opening 1:44 on five points from Hollings and a pair of free throws by Porchia.
SFA interrupted the run when Moore got the assist from Mccliment-Call for an open jumper, 7-2, with 8:04 left in the first. However, that only pushed Troy to score more as they responded with another 7-0 run that concluded with a triple from Daniel at the 3:21 mark, 14-2.
Destini Lombard and the Lumberjacks fought back, trimming the deficit to six, 22-16, when she grabbed the offensive board and went back up for the lay-in to spark a 10-0 run that ended with 2:53 remaining.
The final 2:41 saw Troy end the first on a 13-3 run, where Guion, Sharonica Hartsfield, Porchia, Leilani Augmon and Felmas Koranga got involved. When the buzzer sounded, Troy scored the most points in a quarter this season, 35-19.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"It marks the separation between the power-five and the mid-majors. Let's take a look at look at the lessons we've learned, but we didn't need no more moral victories. We needed some games. I said we weren't leaving without a win, and the girls got behind that. I can't stop thinking how hard Nia Daniel played on defense. She came in as a scorer, and now she can do both. She just wants to win. They are still believing, and they have turned the corner. This team has put in the work."
Holly, Jolly Stats
• Before today, no player had scored 20-plus points in a game for Troy. After today, both Hollings and Daniel produced 20 and 21, respectively.
• Troy is now undefeated when it shoots above 40 percent from the field – shot 46.2 today and 41.5 against UT Martin.
• The Trojans forced a whopping 27 turnovers to their 13 to mark a new season-high – previous high was 26 turnovers against UT Martin.
• The matchup against SFA marked the fourth first-time matchup of 2023-24 and the first victory in a first-ever meeting.
• Troy's pace was unparalleled against the Lumberjacks, producing 39 fast break points and points off turnovers.
More Tomorrow
The Troy women's basketball program returns to action tomorrow to conclude the non-conference schedule against New Mexico State at noon in the F&M Bank Arena.
