Troy Drops Tight Contest to Mississippi Valley State

Sunday, December 1

Itta Bena, Miss.

2 p.m.

Troy University

3-5,0-0Sun Belt

Mississippi Valley State

1-5,0-0SWAC

Troy

Mississippi Val.

Troy Drops Tight Contest to Mississippi Valley State

12/1/2024 6:06:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy women's basketball fell short, 66-65, to Mississippi Valley State on Sunday afternoon in the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex.

The Trojans (3-5) remain winless on the road (0-2) to the Devilettes (1-5), who secured their first victory of the 2024-25 season despite dominating the rebound battle 60-31 with 17 second-chance points.

Zay Dyer posted her second straight double-double, leading the Trojans in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting. No. 5 also grabbed seven offensive rebounds to finish with 11 total. Shaulana Wagner came up one point and two assists short of the first-ever triple-double in D-I history for the Trojans, posting a 9-point, 11-rebound, 8-assist stat line. All but one Trojan ended the night in the rebound column as they secured 31 offensive rebounds and a season-high 60 overall.

Mississippi Valley State forced Troy into 27 turnovers and scored 30 off them to enter the win column. The final Devilette to check in, Shakira Gresham, led the program in scoring with 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. D'Yanna Maxey was the only other Devilette to end with 10-plus points, scoring 10 with three steals to boost – Sh'Diamond Knight finished the night with a team-high four steals.

Down to the Wire
The Devilettes reversed the momentum of the first half in the third quarter when they forced Troy into nine turnovers and scored 11 points off them to head into the final 10 minutes down 53-51. The Devilettes also committed zero turnovers while shooting 8-of-12 at the charity stripe.

Troy extended its lead to seven twice in the first 2:17 of the fourth quarter when Fortuna Ngnawo converted inside, 55-51, and Ashley Baez connected from deep, 58-51, off an assist from No. 12. Baez also responded to a Maxey jumper with a lay-in to reextend the lead to seven, 60-53, at the 2:17 mark.

Over the next 3:51, the Devilettes launched an 11-0 run that included six Troy turnovers to take the 64-60 lead. A Brianna Jackson free throw ended the run, 64-61, and Dyer made it a 1-point game when Khila Morris intercepted the MVS pass, and No. 5 finished with a jumper. Again, Dyer made the margin, 66-65, when she followed a fastbreak bucket from the Devilettes with a second-chance layup with 2:33 remaining.

Neither team scored in the final 2:33 as MVS shot 0-of-4, but Troy also went 0-of-3 with a turnover, including two misses on the final possession. Troy gained possession, and head coach Chanda Rigby called a full timeout with 0:16 left. However, the Trojans failed on two attempts in the final 0:10 to fall short, 66-65.

Find the Range
Kearra Jones trimmed the margin to two for Mississippi Valley State, 15-13, with 7:31 left in the second when she got the assist from McKnight and scored inside. 0:15 later, Dyer continued her hot start when she earned the foul on the offensive board and converted a free throw, 16-13.

Morris and Wagner pushed the lead to seven, 20-13, at the 5:47 mark. First, Baez made the extra pass on her way inside to find No. 24 for the layup. Wagner continued the 5-0 burst when she grabbed the defensive board and pulled up from mid-range.

After both sides exchanged buckets with makes from Briana Peguero and Jackson, MVS broke through with back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to four, 24-20, with 2:23 left in the half.

The margin remained two possessions, 28-24, when Gresham drove inside for the Devilettes and hit at the 8:48 mark. Troy responded via Emani Jenkins, who found her range with 0:48 on the clock and hit again with 0:23 remaining to push Troy's lead to eight, 34-26 – Keanna Coburn converted a lay-in between the back-to-back triples. A free throw from Jaeda Murphy with 0:02 remaining sent Troy into the locker room with a 34-27 lead.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're coming off a very disappointing loss to Mississippi Valley State. They did a great job attacking us in places where we've shown vulnerability this season. We did double their rebounds, but when you shoot a very low percentage and turn the ball over, it's a deadly combination. They scored over 30 points off our turnovers. Overall, we had a lack of poise. We have some things to fix and are sad about the loss. We're in a humble place. But we will get back to the drawing board so we can get better."

Home Opener
For the first time in 2024-25, the Trojans battle in Trojan Arena with the home opener on Wednesday, Dec. 4, against Oakwood.

Sunday Afternoon Stats
• Wagner finished with a season-high eight assists while posting 11 rebounds and nine points to near a triple-double.
• Dyer secured her third double-double of 2024-25 and the 11^th of her career on a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Trojans dominated the boards with a season-high of 60. They won the rebound battle, 60-31, with 17 second-chance points.
• For the first time since ULM on Feb. 1, 2024, the Trojans finished with 30-plus offensive rebounds (31).
• After scoring 12 points, Baez has double-digit points in seven of her eight games as a Trojan.
• Despite the loss, Troy held Mississippi Valley State to just 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.