Troy University Athletics
Troy University
19-11,15-3Sun Belt
Louisiana
17-13,10-8Sun Belt
Women’s Basketball Falls in Quarterfinals to No. 7 Louisiana
3/9/2024 12:28:00 AM | Basketball (W)
PENSACOLA, Fla. – A tight contest that went to the buzzer sees No. 2 Troy women's basketball fall to No. 7 Louisiana, 67-65, to end its Sun Belt Conference Tournament run early at the Bay Center Friday night.
A regular season where the Trojans (19-11, 15-3 SBC) grabbed their eighth straight top-four seed with a first-ever No. 2 slot, roared on two seven-plus win streaks and led the nation in rebounding at 47.76 comes to an end while the Ragin' Cajuns (17-13, 10-8 SBC) advance to the semifinals to battle No. 3 James Madison.
Ja'Mia Hollings shined with a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double while leading the team defensively with two steals and one block. She also became a threat from deep, with three triples on four attempts. Nia Daniel also willed Troy in the first half, scoring 12 of her 15 on 5-of-6 from the field – finished 6-of-13. Senior Makayia Hallmon produced double-figures with 10 points on two triples.
Outside the first quarter, Louisiana shot 46.8 percent, with Tamiah Robinson and Jaylyn James leading the scoring column with 15 apiece on a combined 10-of-18 from the field, 5-of-9 from deep and 5-of-5 at the line. The Ragin' Cajuns also won the turnover battle 17-8 off nine steals and five blocks.
Down to the Wire
ULL started the fourth by drilling a triple at the 0:21 mark to push its lead to seven, 57-50. However, Troy roared back when Hollings matched from behind the arc 0:48 later with an assist from Daniel, 57-53. Zay Dyer and Makayia Hallmon went back-to-back to tie the game, 57-57, with 7:44 remaining.
Tamera Johnson retook the lead for ULL when she capitalized off a Troy turnover for the lay-in, 59-57. 'Stixxs' was there for another response, repeating history with an assist from Daniel to complete the 7-point comeback, 60-59.
Both teams battled back and forth, with Hollings willing Troy down the stretch when she scored the second-chance lay-in, 64-63, with 2:28 left. This time, it was Robinson for ULL with the eventual dagger from deep 0:23 later, 67-63.
Hollings kept Troy within one possession when she scored her 10th point of the fourth, 67-65, with 1:53 on the clock. The next 1:48 saw neither time score, but a defensive stop by Hollings set Troy up with 4.8 on the clock and the ball. The inbound went to Tai'Sheka Porchia, who found Hollings behind the arc. The ball rattled off the rim, ending the Trojans' season, 67-65.
Lucky No. 12
The contest remained tight through the opening 5:00, but the Trojans reclaimed the advantage on a lay-in by Shaulana Wagner, 11-10. Wagner's bucket opened a brief 6-0 run that ended when Daniel completed the break on a deep 2-point jumper, 15-10, with 2:42 left.
After both sides exchanged a pair of free throws, Daniel began her heroics when she swiped the ball from Johnson and took it coast-to-coast, 19-12. No. 12 went the assist route on the next possession when Sharonica Hartsfield came up with the steal and found Daniel. Daniel took the extra pass, finding Leilani Guion open for three, 21-12 – Daniel made two more free throws to end with 10 points in the quarter.
Daniel wasn't done, hitting her 12th point to push the advantage to 12, 26-14, at the 1:10 mark of the second. However, ULL managed to trim the deficit to six when Ashlyn Jones hit the jumper, 28-22 – 6:42 remaining.
The following two possessions were owned by Hallmon when she hit back-to-back triples to push the advantage back to 12, 34-22. Hartsfield first found Hallmon from behind the arch, 31-22, and 0:21 later, Hollings got the steal and saw No. 3 again, 34-22 – 5:56 left in the second.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"This is not the way we wanted to represent Troy today. I'm mostly sad for our whole team and definitely our four seniors. I want to give Louisiana a ton of credit. It's tough to beat someone three times in a season, and we didn't play like underdogs. However, they did. After making a run off our press, we never found another big run. That's the game of basketball. It's a game of runs. They also did well getting it into the paint, which went against our gameplan. This loss doesn't define these players. They are amazing, and they really wanted it. Unfortunately, that's March Madness."
Quarterfinal Numbers
• Troy dominated the first quarter, shooting 64.3 percent while limiting ULL to 26.7 to hold a 24-14 lead.
• The Trojans fall to 3-2 in postseason play against the Ragin' Cajuns and 5-8 in the quarterfinals.
• Despite the loss, Troy led much of the game, timing at 27:35 with the lead. In the end, there were nine lead changes and seven tied scores.
• The rebound game saw Troy dominate Louisiana, 44-30, including 14 offensive boards. Those 14 resulted in 11 second-chance points.
• Dyer managed the highest +/- at +9 in her 24 minutes, seizing 10 rebounds and four points.
