Troy Women’s Basketball Ends Eight-Game Road Trip at Mississippi Valley State

TROY, Ala. – Red hot from being crowned the 41^st Great Alaska Shootout Champions with wins over Alaska-Anchorage and North Dakota State, Troy women's basketball looks to hit .500 on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it faces Mississippi Valley State in the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex.

The series between the programs is split 3-2 in favor of the Trojans (3-4), who are searching for their first win in the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex. Troy's lone match against the Devilettes (0-5) on the road was in 1993, with a 79-67 loss under Joyce Sorrell.

Game Information
Location: Itta Bena, Miss. – R.W. Harrison HPER Complex
The Matchup: Troy (3-4, 0-0 SBC) vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-5, 0-0 SWAC)
When: Sunday, Dec. 1 – 2 p.m.
Watch: YouTube
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com

In-Season Champs
Troy looks to capture the momentum of the Great Alaska Shootout with a third straight victory to hit the .500 mark in nonconference play. Sunday marks game eight of eight of a road trip spanning the month of November. In Anchorage, the Trojans overcame a 20-point deficit at halftime against the host team, Alaska-Anchorage, to win in overtime, 80-73, before dominating the second half against North Dakota State for an 86-69 victory and the championship.

At halftime, Troy was down 39-19 against the Seawolves with 25.9 percent shooting and 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. However, the Trojans flipped the script immediately in the second half, scoring 18 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter to cut the deficit to nine at the end of 30 minutes. From there, Shaulana Wagner, Fortuna Ngnawo and Zay Dyer finished the comeback, 80-73, combining for 44 points, 17 rebounds and two steals in the second half and overtime.

The championship game saw a tight first half, with North Dakota State entering the second half with a 36-35 lead. Like the day before, Troy came out swinging in the third quarter on both ends, forcing the Bisons into 3-of-15 shooting (nine points) while scoring 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting (60 percent). Emma Imevbore made the difference off the bench, posting season-highs in 22 minutes with 12 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and a steal to crown the Trojans, 86-69.

Wagner was the premiere player of the Great Alaska Shootout, highlighted by 18 of her 20 points against Alaska-Anchorage coming in the final 30 minutes to help Troy overcome its first 20-plus deficit since Jackson State on Dec. 20, 2021. Her stat line of 12.5 points, five rebounds and five assists earned the Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player. Dyer followed suit with 13.5 points on 46.4 percent shooting, 10 rebounds and a block to receive an All-Tournament Team nod. Despite not receiving an accolade, Ngnawo also shined with 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds through both games.

Looking for a First
The Devilettes are still searching for their first win of the 2024-25 season, opening 0-5 with losses to Memphis, Lipscomb, Arkansas State, UAB, and Louisiana Tech. Of the five losses, Mississippi Valley State's lone single-digit loss came on Tuesday against L-Tech. MVS peaked in the third quarter, shooting 44.44 percent on 8-of-18 from the field and forcing 29 turnovers through 40 minutes. But it wasn't enough to overcome 16 turnovers of their own and 29.2 percent shooting (21-of-72).

Through the Devilettes' five games, Sh'Diamond McKnight has led the stat sheet with 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and four steals. No. 1 has three games in double-figures with two 20-plus point games against Memphis (22) and UAB (20). Mississippi Valley State's second double-digit scorer, Clemisha Prackett, averages 11.3 points while being the team's top rebounder with six per game.

Sunday Shootout Stats
• Ngnawo's Great Alaska Shootout performance secured her the No. 1 stop in the SBC for rebounds per game at 8.9 (83^rd nationally). Dyer joined her in the top five (fifth) with 8.4.
• Imevbore secured season-highs in the first half alone against North Dakota State with eight points, two blocks, six rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes. She finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
• All but one Trojan ended the night in the scoring column for the second time in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game (No. 24/25 Alabama).
• Troy dominated in the paint, outscoring the Bisons 56-28. They also led in fastbreak points, 16-2.
• Wagner earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Alaska Tournament by scoring 12.5 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
• The Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference team to win the Great Alaska Shootout and 41^st ever.
• Dyer got the all-tournament team nod with 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, one block and two assists.
• In five of the last six games, Wagner's finished with 5-plus assists. She's collected 5-plus assists 20 times in her Troy career.
• Ngnawo's three double-doubles to open the 2024-25 season sit first in the league and 24^th nationally.
• Ashley Baez has finished in double-figures in six of Troy's seven games to debut for the program to average 11.4 points on 43.1 percent in the field and 40.9 from deep.
• Through the opening seven games, Troy remains a premiere SBC team in rebounding, leading the pack with 47.14 per game – Troy ranks seventh nationally.
• Troy returned to defeat Alaska-Anchorage, who was 116-14 before tonight in the last 130 games played at the Alaska Airlines Center.
• A 20-point comeback marked the first time the Trojans overcame a 20-plus point deficit since Jackson State on Dec. 20, 2021. That day, the Trojans trailed by 24 and won 99-82.
• No. 2 became the lone active Trojan to swipe 5-plus steals in a game against No. 7 LSU as Baez ended with a team-high five steals.
• The Trojans forced LSU into a season-high 21 turnovers. Before the matchup, the Tigers ranked 10^th in the nation in fewest turnovers at 14.8.
• Baez set a new career-high in free throws made with 10 at UT-Chattanooga to become the first Trojan since Nia Daniel to hit 10-plus at the charity stripe (ULM – Feb. 1, 2024).
• For the most blocks by a Trojan since LaGrange (12/14/22) by Janeen Camp, Brianna Jackson rejected six shots on Buffalo.
• Peguero stretched the floor throughout the ballgame as she set a new career-high in her Troy debut with five threes (5-of-7 from deep). Her five triples marked the first time a Trojans made 5-plus triples in a game since Nia Daniel against Southern Miss on Dec. 29, 2022.
• Grace Daniels became the newest member of the Trojans, being hired as the new assistant coach to pair alongside Stephanie Murphy on Oct. 26.
• Troy returners 18.8 percent of its scoring, 43.7 percent of assists, 26.4 percent of rebounds, 26.9 percent of blocks and 26.2 percent of minutes from the 2023-24 roster.
• Of the nine newcomers, three are products of Division-I and six are JUCO.
• Wagner, one of Troy's three returners, comes off a season where she ranked sixth in program D-I history for total assists at 150 and ninth for assists per game at 4.9.
• 2023-24 saw the Trojans break the program record for most field goals made in a single season at 1,060 – they also broke the record for points (2,749) and field goal attempts (2,528).
• Last season, the Trojans ranked in the top two within the conference for assist/turnover ratio (1st– 1.09), rebounds (1st – 47.88), scoring (2nd – 80.9), defensive and offensive rebounds (2nd – 30.8, 17.1), rebound margin (2nd – 7.8) and assists (2nd – 15.4) – also led the nation in rebounding.
• The 2024-25 roster contains zero underclassmen, with seven as seniors and five as juniors.
• Over the summer, Troy went overseas to Costa Rica, where it finished 2-0 with 78-56 and 94-50 victories.

Troy Women’s Basketball Ends Eight-Game Road Trip at Mississippi Valley State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley Baez

Nia Daniel

Zay Dyer

Emma Imevbore

Brianna Jackson

Fortuna Ngnawo

Shaulana Wagner

Troy University Athletics