Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, December 18
Cherokee, N.C.
6 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Toledo
Troy Women’s Basketball Set for 2024 Cherokee Tournament
12/17/2024 4:02:00 PM | Basketball (W)
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Cherokee Resort & Convention Center, the Troy women's basketball program embarks on a 2-day journey at the 2024 Cherokee Tournament against competition from the SEC (Arkansas), AAC (Liberty) and MAC (Toledo), starting with the Rockets.
The 2024 Cherokee Tournament marks the second nonconference tournament for the Trojans (5-5) in the 2024-25 season. Troy's first came nearly a month ago (Nov. 22-23) when it defeated Alaska-Anchorage and North Dakota State to claim the 41st Great Alaska Shootout crown.
Game Information
Location: Cherokee, N.C. – The Cherokee Resort & Convention Center
The Matchup: Troy (5-5, 0-0 SBC) vs. Toledo (5-2, 0-0 MAC) / Arkansas (6-6, 0-0 SEC) or Liberty (6-3, 0-0 AAC)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 18 (6 p.m.) / Thursday, Dec. 19 (TBD)
Watch: Stadium Network
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Triple-Double
Last Saturday was a historic night in Trojan Arena outside the 85-69 redemption victory over Memphis. Shaulana Wagner, who earned Sun Belt Player of the Week, recorded the first D-I Troy women's basketball triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The senior secured four rebounds in the final four minutes, including her 10th with 1:05 remaining to immortalize herself in the record books.
Wagner's career-high 11 assists also pushed her over the 200-assist mark for her career. Despite being at Troy for just 41 games, No. 13 sits 29 assists away from joining the career top 10 for Troy in Division-I history. She already comes off a 2023-24 campaign where she ranked sixth in program D-I history for total assists at 150 and ninth for assists per game at 4.9 for a single season. The Detroit native currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in assists (58) and assists per game (5.8) while being one of 11 players in the country to post a triple-double.
The Trojans set a season-high in shooting to route Memphis, going 35-of-71 from the field (49.3 percent) and 5-of-13 from deep (38.5). They also hit the second-best free throw percentage at 83.3 (10-of-12). Along with Wagner's triple-double, five Trojans ended with 10-plus points: Brianna Jackson (16), Ashley Baez (16), Zay Dyer (16) and Leilani Guion (10).
Troy's last nonconference tournament saw familiar faces dominate as Wagner earned the Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player with a 12.5-point, 5-rebound and 5-assist stat line through both games. Dyer, the SBC leader in rebounding (9.1) and double-doubles (5), also received an all-tournament team nod with 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, one block and two assists.
Scouting Toledo
Round one pits Troy against Toledo, and the opposition comes off a victory over Mercyhurst. The matchup will be Toledo's second game against a Sun Belt Conference opponent, with it defeating Marshall in the MAC-SBC Challenge to open 2024-25 on Nov. 4. Toledo's been solid in getting to the free throw line with 20.7 attempts per game to rank 41st in the nation and second in the MAC. Sammi Mikonowicz is the pure scorer for Toledo, shooting 53 percent from the field and 76.7 at the stripe for a team-high 14.3 points.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas has played in 12 games in 2024-25, with highlights like defeating Boston College (75-64) and an overtime win at Little Rock (71-60) and low points like falling to UCLA by 49 (101-52) and losing a heartbreaker to Bowling Green (79-78). The Razorbacks have limitless range, sitting fifth in the SEC with 7.8 3-pointers per game. Former SBC star Izzy Higginbottom carried her dominance into Arkansas, leading the SEC in scoring with 23.8 points per game on 47.4 percent from the field.
Scouting Liberty
Liberty rides a three-game win streak into the tournament over Christopher Newport (106-58), North Carolina A&T (56-51) and Randolph (109-26). The Flames have had their share of high-level competition, facing No. 11 Duke and Tennessee – they lost both by an average margin of minus-16.5. Among the American Athletic Conference, Liberty leads the league in blocks (4.8), field goal percentage (47.7), defensive rebounds (29) and 3-point percentage (38.9). Bella Smudas has been a force for Liberty, ranking in the top 10 of the AAC in field goal percentage (first – 56.5), blocks (third – 1.78) and rebounds (eighth – 6.9).
Cherokee Outlook
• Wagner earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week with her historic triple-double, becoming the first Trojan of 2024-25 and the first since Ja'Mia Hollings on Feb. 20, 2024.
• The Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference team to win the Great Alaska Shootout and 41st in their first nonconference tournament of 2024-25.
• Baez has swiped multiple steals in 6-of-10 games in 2024-25, including the last four games.
• Wagner eclipsed the 200-assist mark in her Troy career. She's 29 away from hopping into the D-I top-10 at Troy through two seasons.
• The Trojans allowed Memphis to shoot 44.1 percent from the field and won, marking the first win of 2024-25 when allowing 40-plus percent.
• Dyer leads the SBC in double-doubles with five – she also ranks 18th in the nation.
• Ngnawo and Dyer compete for the top spot in the SBC for rebounding as they sit atop the rankings at first (57th nationally) and second (79th nationally) with 9.1 and 8.8, respectively.
• Wagner leads the league in assists per game (5.8) and total assists (58) while ranking 17th and 25th in the nation, respectively.
• Through the opening 10 games, Troy remains a premiere SBC team in rebounding, leading the pack with 49.7 per game – Troy ranks third nationally.
• In eight of the last nine games, Wagner's finished with 5-plus assists. She's collected 5-plus assists 23 times in her Troy career.
• Wagner became the first D-I player in Troy women's basketball history to record a triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. She's one of 11 players in the country and the lone SBC player to record a triple-double in 2024-25.
• Troy dominated the stat line in the first half shooting, going 20-of-36 from the field (55.6 percent), 5-of-10 from deep (50 percent) and 1-of-1 at the charity stripe (100 percent). They finished with a season-high 49.3 percent (35-of-71) from the field and 38.5 percent from deep (5-of-13).
• Dyer secured her fourth straight double-double, ending with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She's had five in 2024-25 and 13 in her D-I career.
• In the ninth game of 2024-25, Baez scored double-digit points, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
• For the third time in 2024-25, 5-plus Trojans ended the night in double-figures. In those three games, Troy is 2-1.
• Baez had career-highs in points (16), field goals made (6) and assists (4) as she's finished with 10-plus points in 9-of-10 games.
• In her historic triple-double night, Wagner also dished out a career-high 11 assists. She became the first player since Sharonica Hartsfield (Nov. 11, 2023) against Ball State to have double-digit assists.
• The Trojans scored 61 points in the first half against Oakwood, marking the first time they scored 60-plus points in a half since South Alabama on March 1, 2024.
• Six Trojans ended the night against Oakwood in double-figures for the first time since Georgia State on Jan. 7, 2022.
• Against Oakwood, Troy marked the 56th time it scored triple-figures and the 37th time in Rigby's career. Troy is 52-4 overall and 34-3 under Rigby when scoring 100-plus points.
• Troy ended with 28 steals for the most since Georgia State (20) on Jan. 7, 2022. The Trojans scored 46 points off those turnovers. The 28 steals were just four shy of Troy's D-I single-game record.
• Ngnawo finished with 10 rebounds against Oakwood to record double-figure rebounds in 5-of-9 games.
• Under head coach Chanda Rigby, the Trojans are 11-2 in their home openers. The program's started 2-0 at home eight times (2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2024-25).
• No. 13 has led Troy in scoring and/or assists in all 10 games in 2024-25.
• For the first time since ULM on Feb. 1, 2024, the Trojans finished with 30-plus offensive rebounds (31) against Mississippi Valley State.
• Wagner earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Alaska Tournament by scoring 12.5 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
• Dyer got the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament team nod with 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, one block and two assists.
• A 20-point comeback over Alaska-Anchorage 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.
• 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 returns 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.
• 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.
The 2024 Cherokee Tournament marks the second nonconference tournament for the Trojans (5-5) in the 2024-25 season. Troy's first came nearly a month ago (Nov. 22-23) when it defeated Alaska-Anchorage and North Dakota State to claim the 41st Great Alaska Shootout crown.
Game Information
Location: Cherokee, N.C. – The Cherokee Resort & Convention Center
The Matchup: Troy (5-5, 0-0 SBC) vs. Toledo (5-2, 0-0 MAC) / Arkansas (6-6, 0-0 SEC) or Liberty (6-3, 0-0 AAC)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 18 (6 p.m.) / Thursday, Dec. 19 (TBD)
Watch: Stadium Network
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Triple-Double
Last Saturday was a historic night in Trojan Arena outside the 85-69 redemption victory over Memphis. Shaulana Wagner, who earned Sun Belt Player of the Week, recorded the first D-I Troy women's basketball triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The senior secured four rebounds in the final four minutes, including her 10th with 1:05 remaining to immortalize herself in the record books.
Wagner's career-high 11 assists also pushed her over the 200-assist mark for her career. Despite being at Troy for just 41 games, No. 13 sits 29 assists away from joining the career top 10 for Troy in Division-I history. She already comes off a 2023-24 campaign where she ranked sixth in program D-I history for total assists at 150 and ninth for assists per game at 4.9 for a single season. The Detroit native currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in assists (58) and assists per game (5.8) while being one of 11 players in the country to post a triple-double.
The Trojans set a season-high in shooting to route Memphis, going 35-of-71 from the field (49.3 percent) and 5-of-13 from deep (38.5). They also hit the second-best free throw percentage at 83.3 (10-of-12). Along with Wagner's triple-double, five Trojans ended with 10-plus points: Brianna Jackson (16), Ashley Baez (16), Zay Dyer (16) and Leilani Guion (10).
Troy's last nonconference tournament saw familiar faces dominate as Wagner earned the Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player with a 12.5-point, 5-rebound and 5-assist stat line through both games. Dyer, the SBC leader in rebounding (9.1) and double-doubles (5), also received an all-tournament team nod with 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, one block and two assists.
Scouting Toledo
Round one pits Troy against Toledo, and the opposition comes off a victory over Mercyhurst. The matchup will be Toledo's second game against a Sun Belt Conference opponent, with it defeating Marshall in the MAC-SBC Challenge to open 2024-25 on Nov. 4. Toledo's been solid in getting to the free throw line with 20.7 attempts per game to rank 41st in the nation and second in the MAC. Sammi Mikonowicz is the pure scorer for Toledo, shooting 53 percent from the field and 76.7 at the stripe for a team-high 14.3 points.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas has played in 12 games in 2024-25, with highlights like defeating Boston College (75-64) and an overtime win at Little Rock (71-60) and low points like falling to UCLA by 49 (101-52) and losing a heartbreaker to Bowling Green (79-78). The Razorbacks have limitless range, sitting fifth in the SEC with 7.8 3-pointers per game. Former SBC star Izzy Higginbottom carried her dominance into Arkansas, leading the SEC in scoring with 23.8 points per game on 47.4 percent from the field.
Scouting Liberty
Liberty rides a three-game win streak into the tournament over Christopher Newport (106-58), North Carolina A&T (56-51) and Randolph (109-26). The Flames have had their share of high-level competition, facing No. 11 Duke and Tennessee – they lost both by an average margin of minus-16.5. Among the American Athletic Conference, Liberty leads the league in blocks (4.8), field goal percentage (47.7), defensive rebounds (29) and 3-point percentage (38.9). Bella Smudas has been a force for Liberty, ranking in the top 10 of the AAC in field goal percentage (first – 56.5), blocks (third – 1.78) and rebounds (eighth – 6.9).
Cherokee Outlook
• Wagner earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week with her historic triple-double, becoming the first Trojan of 2024-25 and the first since Ja'Mia Hollings on Feb. 20, 2024.
• The Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference team to win the Great Alaska Shootout and 41st in their first nonconference tournament of 2024-25.
• Baez has swiped multiple steals in 6-of-10 games in 2024-25, including the last four games.
• Wagner eclipsed the 200-assist mark in her Troy career. She's 29 away from hopping into the D-I top-10 at Troy through two seasons.
• The Trojans allowed Memphis to shoot 44.1 percent from the field and won, marking the first win of 2024-25 when allowing 40-plus percent.
• Dyer leads the SBC in double-doubles with five – she also ranks 18th in the nation.
• Ngnawo and Dyer compete for the top spot in the SBC for rebounding as they sit atop the rankings at first (57th nationally) and second (79th nationally) with 9.1 and 8.8, respectively.
• Wagner leads the league in assists per game (5.8) and total assists (58) while ranking 17th and 25th in the nation, respectively.
• Through the opening 10 games, Troy remains a premiere SBC team in rebounding, leading the pack with 49.7 per game – Troy ranks third nationally.
• In eight of the last nine games, Wagner's finished with 5-plus assists. She's collected 5-plus assists 23 times in her Troy career.
• Wagner became the first D-I player in Troy women's basketball history to record a triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. She's one of 11 players in the country and the lone SBC player to record a triple-double in 2024-25.
• Troy dominated the stat line in the first half shooting, going 20-of-36 from the field (55.6 percent), 5-of-10 from deep (50 percent) and 1-of-1 at the charity stripe (100 percent). They finished with a season-high 49.3 percent (35-of-71) from the field and 38.5 percent from deep (5-of-13).
• Dyer secured her fourth straight double-double, ending with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She's had five in 2024-25 and 13 in her D-I career.
• In the ninth game of 2024-25, Baez scored double-digit points, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
• For the third time in 2024-25, 5-plus Trojans ended the night in double-figures. In those three games, Troy is 2-1.
• Baez had career-highs in points (16), field goals made (6) and assists (4) as she's finished with 10-plus points in 9-of-10 games.
• In her historic triple-double night, Wagner also dished out a career-high 11 assists. She became the first player since Sharonica Hartsfield (Nov. 11, 2023) against Ball State to have double-digit assists.
• The Trojans scored 61 points in the first half against Oakwood, marking the first time they scored 60-plus points in a half since South Alabama on March 1, 2024.
• Six Trojans ended the night against Oakwood in double-figures for the first time since Georgia State on Jan. 7, 2022.
• Against Oakwood, Troy marked the 56th time it scored triple-figures and the 37th time in Rigby's career. Troy is 52-4 overall and 34-3 under Rigby when scoring 100-plus points.
• Troy ended with 28 steals for the most since Georgia State (20) on Jan. 7, 2022. The Trojans scored 46 points off those turnovers. The 28 steals were just four shy of Troy's D-I single-game record.
• Ngnawo finished with 10 rebounds against Oakwood to record double-figure rebounds in 5-of-9 games.
• Under head coach Chanda Rigby, the Trojans are 11-2 in their home openers. The program's started 2-0 at home eight times (2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2024-25).
• No. 13 has led Troy in scoring and/or assists in all 10 games in 2024-25.
• For the first time since ULM on Feb. 1, 2024, the Trojans finished with 30-plus offensive rebounds (31) against Mississippi Valley State.
• Wagner earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Alaska Tournament by scoring 12.5 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
• Dyer got the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament team nod with 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, one block and two assists.
• A 20-point comeback over Alaska-Anchorage 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.
• 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 returns 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.
• 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.
Players Mentioned
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