Troy University Athletics
Troy University
0-6,0-0Sun Belt
Georgia
7-2,0-0SEC
Troy Women's Basketball Falls Short at Georgia
12/6/2023 1:23:00 PM | Basketball (W)
ATHENS, Ga. – Troy women's basketball battled until the final buzzer by outscoring Georgia 23-19 in the fourth. But, in the end, the Bulldogs took the victory 86-70 Wednesday afternoon at the Stegeman Coliseum.
A sixth straight loss to open 2023-24 for the Trojans (0-6) saw them fall to their second SEC opponent. On the opposing side, the Bulldogs rise to 7-2 with their second straight victory in the programs' first-ever meeting.
Nia Daniel erupted in the fourth quarter with 12 of her team-high 19 points, coming on 4-of-10 from the field. Standing 5-3, Makayia Hallmon wasn't far behind with 18 points, five assists and two steals, while Leilani Guion scored 10 points off the bench on the most efficient night by a Trojan this season at 4-of-5.
Georgia had four Bulldogs in double-digits, with Javyn Nicholson producing a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds. De'Mauri Flournoy was the Bulldogs' leading scorer, with 16 points on four triples.
Stuck the Landing
Starting the second quarter, Georgia began to take control, eventually pushing its advantage to double-figures, 31-21, with 7:09 left on a fast break layup for Zoesha Smith. Ja'Mia Hollings and Guion combined to cut the deficit to six, 31-25, before Georgia found itself up 16 heading into the locker room as Taniyah Thompson converted a jumper with 0:39 left, 47-31.
The third quarter saw Georgia slowly balloon its lead to 20, 67-47, by the end as Asia Avinger drilled the jumper right before the quarter expired. Despite losing the quarter 20-16, the Trojans won the battle of the bench with eight points coming from there as opposed to Georgia's six – five points came from Guion.
Quarter No. 4 saw Troy return with a purpose when Daniel drilled a triple, 67-50, off a Hallmon assist 0:13 in. Despite a 3-point response by UGA, Troy trickled the deficit down to 14 on a 6-0 run that ended when Zay Dyer fully extended for the offensive rebound and second-chance bucket with 8:08 remaining, 70-56.
After trading shots, the Trojans kept the push going when Daniel scored back-to-back buckets in 14 seconds, 78-63 – Daniel made a fast break jumper, intercepted the inbound and scored a layup – which resulted in a timeout by the Bulldogs with 5:04 left. Georgia came out of the timeout and sealed the victory when Jordan Cole converted an and-one, followed by a bucket for Avinger at the 5:52 mark, 84-65. A no-quit attitude for Troy saw them battle to a final score of 86-70.
First Quarter Grudge Match
Troy set the tone against the SEC opponent early when Hallmon followed up the UGA bucket with a deep two of her own, 2-2, 0:24 into the game.
That bucket sparked a 6-0 run, 6-2, for Troy, that saw Hallmon score back-to-back buckets and Daniel drill a jumper. The Trojans kept the pressure going, proceeding a 2-point bucket by Thomas with a fast break triple by Daniel, 9-4, with 6:45 left in the first.
The Bulldogs battled back to retake the 13-11 lead off a jumper from Avinger at the 5:49 mark. However, Troy capitalized on an offensive foul by Thomas with a pair of free throws for Porchia and a layup by Hollings to snatch the lead, 15-13, with 3:14 left in the quarter.
Both sides continued to deliver blows, but a second-chance bucket by Cole ended the quarter and allowed UGA to take a 4-point lead, 19-15, heading into the second.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"I saw a lot of fight and the execution of a game plan. Georgia is a completely different team than one we've seen all year with their zone defense. We only had two and a half days to prepare, and we saw the execution of Stephanie Murphy's gameplan. They have great post players, and we did a great job limiting their best players. The one thing I'm disappointed in was the second chance boards. We didn't challenge them enough in that way. I think the team did well in transition defense. We have to keep getting better. We made a lot of strides today, though, but we still have some more work to do. I'm not happy to come away with a loss, but I'm looking towards the greater goal."
SBC vs. SEC Stats
• Troy turned it around from deep after netting zero against Memphis, drilling seven triples against Georgia.
• At the charity stripe, Troy shot its best percentage of the season, going 9-of-10 for 90 percent – previous high was 84.6 at No. 15 Tennessee.
• Guion produced her first double-digit game since joining the Trojans on 4-of-5 from the field and two triples.
• Troy kept the contest close with Georgia, falling in points from turnovers and fast break by just one, 9-8 and 15-14, respectively.
• Troy's 42.9 percent shooting and 11 fast break points allowed it to outscore the Bulldogs 23-19 in the fourth quarter – 12 points from Daniel.
We're Coming Home
The Trojans return to Trojan Arena for their matchup against UT Martin, scheduled for Saturday at 3:33 p.m.
