Troy University Athletics
Troy University
15-10,11-3Sun Belt
ULM
16-10,8-6Sun Belt
Porchia, Daniel and Hollings Seize Double-Doubles in Tight Senior Day Victory
2/17/2024 8:02:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – Troy women's basketball capped off its senior day festivities with a tough 81-77 win over ULM with three double-double performances by Nia Daniel, Tai'Sheka Porchia and Ja'Mia Hollings in Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Troy's (15-10, 11-3 SBC) 12th straight win over ULM (16-10, 8-6 SBC) saw three double-doubles in a single game for the first time since Tulane on Dec. 7, 2022. The victory puts Troy two games ahead of fifth to clinch a two-round bye while the Warhawks drop to sixth in the league standings.
Porchia led the double-double trio with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and a team-high 14 rebounds, followed by Hollings and Daniel, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Outside the trio, Leilani Guion managed 10 points off two triples with four assists and four rebounds to boost. Sharonica Hartsfield moved into the starting five to lead the team with seven assists.
The Warhawks went eight players deep in their rotation as Daisha Bradford led with 20 points and six rebounds. Sania Wells was close behind with 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Jakayla Johnson totaled 16 points. All three players combined for a perfect 14-of-14 from the line but fell in the rebound game 56-34 to falter.
Senior Day Celebration
The third quarter saw Troy get in a rhythm as it went on an 8-0 run, where Hartsfield, Leilani Augmon, Hollings and Zay Dyer got involved, 52-45, with 3:09 left. ULM brought the margin down to three at the buzzer when Brianna Harris converted the lay-in as time expired, 57-54.
Wells set the tone for ULM to open the fourth when she swiped the ball from Hollings and took it coast-to-coast, 57-56. However, the seniors in Porchia and Hallmon had the response when No. 10 converted an and-one and No. 3 drilled the triple, 63-56, with 7:55 left.
Bradford continued to will ULM, trimming the deficit to five twice. Her second time saw No. 2 convert both free throws, 65-60, before Troy's seniors retook control. Troy ballooned its lead to double-digits, 70-60, when Daniel grabbed the offensive rebound and finished inside before Hallmon drilled the triple at the 5:09 mark.
ULM tried one last time in the final 0:23 after clawing its way back when Wells drilled the triple, 78-75. Hallmon managed only one make at the line to keep it a 4-point game, 79-75, which allowed Wells to bring the margin to two at the stripe, 79-77. However, for the third game of 2023-24, Hollings iced it at the charity stripe, drilling both with 0:02 left to cap off the senior day victory.
At the Buzzer
ULM took control of the game 1:12 into the second when Wells drilled a triple off the Troy turnover to take an eight-point lead, 30-22. Daniel flipped the momentum 0:13 later when she converted a triple of her own, 30-25.
Daniel's triple opened an 8-0 run for Troy, that continued when Porchia grabbed a Daniel miss and followed up with an and-one conversion, 30-28, resulting in a ULM timeout. Nothing changed from the break when Hartsfield dished it to Hollings inside for the layup to tie the game at 30 – 5:33 on the clock.
Harris and Bradford brought the ULM lead back to five, 35-30, with 3:31 remaining. First, Harris took the assist from Bradford and converted the jumper, 32-30. Then, after a series of missed triples, Bradford struck from deep, 35-30.
With 1:30 remaining, Guion broke through for Troy when she drove inside, pivoted, and threw up the jumper to convert and draw an and-one, 35-32. Leilani Augmon followed on a jumper with 0:46 on the clock after the Trojan defense forced the shot clock violation. Troy took the momentum and the lead, 36-35, at the buzzer when Hollings tossed up the 2-point jumper.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We played a really tough ULM team tonight. They wanted to win really badly and we wanted to win really badly. I'm really proud of our seniors because even though we had the normal distractions of senior day, they kept it up and won the basketball game; all of them contributed in a big way, three of them had double-doubles. Anything less than the effort they put on the floor, we would not have won."
Another One
• Three Trojans ended with a double-double today in Hollings (17 points, 12 rebounds), Daniel (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Porchia (20 points, 14 rebounds) for the first time since Tulane on Dec. 7, 2022.
• Guion ended one point shy of tying a career-high in scoring with 10 points on 4-of-9 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep.
• Troy's victory over ULM marked the 12th straight as head coach Chanda Rigby improved to 14-5 against the Warhawks.
• A third straight victory by Troy marks its second win streak of 2023-24 – last one took them to nine straight.
• The Trojans remain undefeated in SBC play at 10-0 when they shoot above 40 percent from the field, finishing at 41 percent.
• The seniors combined for 61 points and 40 rebounds to account for 75.3 and 71.4 percent, respectively.
Final Road Trip
Troy heads back on the road next week when it travels to face Arkansas State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the First National Bank Arena.
