Troy University Athletics
Troy University
1-6,0-0Sun Belt
UT Martin
1-7,0-0OVC
Women’s Basketball Breaks Through for First Win
12/9/2023 7:32:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – The opening skid comes to a halt as the Troy women's basketball program breaks through for its first win of 2023-24 against UT Martin 71-59 in Trojan Arena on Saturday night.
A 16-steal game saw the Trojans (1-6) outscore the Skyhawks (1-6) in points from turnovers (26-11), in the paint (30-24), second chance (18-7), fast breaks (16-4) and bench points (18-10) to end the drought.
For the third straight game, Nia Daniel leads the Trojans in scoring at 15, going 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Tai'Sheka Porchia and Makayia Hallmon also produced double-figures on 13 and 12 points, respectively – Hallmon led the team with a plus-20 on the court. When the final buzzer sounded, Troy had a season-high 16 steals; eight players contributed and five had 2-plus.
The Skyhawks played from behind the entire ballgame, resulting in only seven players checking in. Lexi Rubel led the team with 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Kenley McCarn also reached 17 points and two blocks, but a team-high six turnovers plagued her day.
Leading After One
Troy set the tone early when Daniel intercepted the pass by Rubel and sparked a 9-0 run to open the game by finding Ja'Mia Hollings for the jumper 0:39 into the first. The run ended at the 4:16 mark when Shaulana Wagner took it coast-to-coast after swiping one from Morgan Borgstadt, 9-0.
The lead continued to balloon after UT Martin scored its first points off a triple from McCarn, 9-3, with 5:24 remaining in the first. Hallmon got in front of the Skyhawk pass and found Hollings, who slid it to Porchia for the lay-in at the 5:13 mark, 11-3. Troy reached its first double-digit advantage of the year 0:33 later when Hollings nailed a jumper inside the paint, 13-3.
A 7-0 run for the Skyhawks that ended when a Troy turnover resulted in a jumper by McCarn saw UT Martin trickle the deficit down to three, 13-10, with 3:01 left.
However, Troy's tenacity on the offensive glass – finished with 11 offensive rebounds – saw them gain some cushion as a missed layup resulted in a board for Zay Dyer and a second-chance 3-pointer by Sharonica Hartsfield, 16-10, with 1:57 left. As the buzzer sounded, Troy officially led to end a quarter for the first time in 2023-24, 16-13.
Finish the Job
With the first lead under their belt, the Trojans kept the pressure going despite the opening bucket of the second going to the Skyhawks as they trimmed the Troy lead to one, 16-15, on a jumper from Anaya Brown 0:33 in. Daniel produced a pair of free throws and a coast-to-coast steal and bucket to reextend the lead to five, 20-15, – 9:06 left – and set Troy up to head into the locker room up nine, 33-24.
The second half saw the Skyhawks ramp up their offensive efficiency, improving from 38.8 in the first to 50 percent in the second. Quarter No. 3 saw the bulk of that as the Skyhawks went 8-of-15, but Troy's 7-0 run in 0:26 gave Troy an 18-point cushion, 46-28, with 4:59 left in the third – included a free throw by Porchia, second chance lay-in by Dyer, layup for Leilani Guion and two steals and a bucket for Hartsfield.
Seven points from Hallmon finished the job for Troy as the team continued to match every shot the Skyhawks gave to outscore them 17-16 in the fourth. The Trojans pushed the lead back to 17, 71-54, on a second-chance tip-in by Hollings to seal the deal with 1:27 on the clock. UT Martin managed five points in garbage time as Troy walked away victorious, 71-59.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"It's great to be in Trojan Arena tonight for our first win. It was Ugly Christmas Sweater Day and now I feel like wearing them every game. But we have to understand that the magic came not from what we are wearing but from our players being determined. They dug in and aimed to get better every single day and I'm glad it showed. This is the first time this team has gotten to enjoy a win together, so we want to make sure we can celebrate it. These players need to understand that this is Troy basketball and what we do as Trojans. We fight for wins. We got some more tough road games coming up, so we have to keep getting better and grab some more wins."
First Win Numbers
• Despite not finding her way in double-figures, Hollings produced all around with nine points, eight rebounds, one assist and two steals.
• Off the bench, Hartsfield was perfect with seven points, on 3-of-3 from the field and 1-of-1 from deep. She also produced three assists and a team-high four steals.
• Troy's perimeter defense was elite, limiting the Skyhawks to 22.7 percent from deep.
• For the first time in 2023-24, the Trojans found themselves shooting above 40 percent from the field at 41.5.
• Troy led for 39:21 of the game, including outscoring the opposition every quarter. This started at the end of the first to mark the first quarter the Trojans led.
• The defense in the first half for Troy was smothering as the Skyhawks were limited to 30.8 percent from the field and 21.4 from deep –forced 13 turnovers.
Back On the Road
Troy returns to the road when it faces Iowa State next Sunday at noon in the Hilton Coliseum.
