Troy Thwarts Late Rally to Knock Off Marshall

Saturday, January 4

Troy, Ala.

3:33 p.m.

Troy University

8-7,2-1Sun Belt

Marshall

5-9,0-3Sun Belt

Marshall

Troy

Troy Thwarts Late Rally to Knock Off Marshall

1/4/2025 7:46:00 PM | Basketball (W)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Marshall cut the deficit to within a possession with just over a minute remaining before Troy ended on a 9-1 run to start 4-0 in Trojan Arena with an 80-69 victory over the defending league champions on Saturday evening.

The Trojans move above .500 for the first time in 2024-25, improving to 8-7, 2-1 SBC while keeping the Thundering Herd (5-9, 0-3 SBC) winless to open Sun Belt Conference play. Troy also improves to 2-0 over Marshall with its first win over the opposition in Trojan Arena.

When Shaulana Wagner went down in the second half, head coach Chanda Rigby called upon Briana Peguero and Khila Morris from the bench, and they produced, combining for 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Morris secured a career-high in points with 13 on 5-of-7 shooting. She even went perfect at the line (2-of-2) and from deep (1-of-1). Peguero played hero for the second straight game on a team-high 17 points, going 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. She also tied a career-high with seven rebounds and three assists, two steals and a block to boost. Of the starters, Zay Dyer secured her SBC-leading eighth double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Aislynn Hayes ended the night leading Marshall with 18 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds. But No. 10 wasn't efficient as she shot 5-of-18 from the field. Meredith Maier (15) and Madison Kellione (12) joined her in double-figures, combining for 27 points. Again, efficiency was lacking as the pair also combined to shoot 9-of-31. Marshall was terrorized on the boards as a unit, falling behind 51-30 in the loss. Troy also seized 18 on the offensive end, leading to 22 second-chance points.

Intercepted … Dagger
The third quarter saw Troy take complete control. After entering the second half down by three, 33-30, Brianna Jackson set the tone for Troy with a second-chance layup off a Dyer assist for the first points, 33-32, at the 1:28 mark. The Trojans would outscore Marshall 24-13 throughout the third on 57.1 percent shooting, ending on a triple from Leilani Guion, 56-45. The Trojans also limited Marshall to 5-of-16 from the field (31.3 percent) and won the rebound battle, 15-5.

Ashley Baez kept the momentum going in the first 0:12 of the fourth, catching the pass from Emani Jenkins for a corner three, marking the largest lead for Troy at 14, 59-45. Troy maintained the advantage through the first half of the fourth, never allowing the margin to dip below seven, as Morris converted a jumper with 5:04 remaining to balloon the advantage back to nine, 65-56.

However, four free throws from Maier in a 0:22 stretch allowed Marshall to reenter the game down five, 65-60, with 4:14 on the clock. The Thundering Herd kept thundering back as they cut the margin down to one possession on three occasions, including at the 8:39 mark when Hayes drilled a triple, 71-68.

The deciding moment came 0:11 later when Peguero found Jackson inside, and she hit, 73-68. Then, out of nowhere, Baez intercepted the inbound and immediately cashed in her eighth point and the dagger, 75-68. Blessing King hit one more free throw for Marshall, but all hopes were dashed when Peguero finished her perfect night at the charity stripe, going 4-of-4 in the remaining seconds to push Troy above .500, 80-69.

Game of Runs
It was a game of runs throughout the first half as Marshall gave the first blow when it claimed the lead and went on an 8-0 run to hold a 17-10 advantage with 2:35 left in the first. Maier finished the run for the Thundering Herd when she drove inside for the lay-in.

The Trojans pushed back early in the second quarter when Guion took over. First, Morris grabbed the offensive rebound and found No. 35 from deep, and she hit to cut the margin to three, 22-19, 1:04 in. On the next Troy possession, Guion grabbed the Baez miss and tipped it back in, 22-21, with 8:19 remaining in the first half.

Marshall had the response for Troy as the opposition rattled off a 9-2 burst over the next 2:09, 31-23, with a second-chance bucket from Dyer at the 3:50 mark being the only bucket for Troy in that span.

Both sides exchanged turnovers before Troy flipped the script with the last laugh of the first half. Dyer started a 7-2 run for the Trojans when she tipped in a missed triple inside, 31-25 – 3:43 remaining. Peguero followed her after rejecting Kellione's shot, drilling a triple with 2:30 left, 31-28. TreShondra Williams paused the run briefly with a pull-up jumper in the paint, 33-28. But Fortuna Ngnawo, Morris and Peguero all connected on the fastbreak, 33-30, with the final points of the first half to cut the margin to one possession.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"Another great night in Trojan Arena. Marshall came out with a great game plan. They were tripling our post players at times, and we had to adjust. They were hitting shots while we were trying to adjust. We came in for halftime and got a second wind. I was really proud of the team for keeping their head and wanting to come out in the second half and dominate. We had 34 points off the bench, which is huge. Peguero came in once again and had a huge night. Meanwhile, Morris had her best night in a Trojan uniform. I'm really proud of our bench players because that's been one of the goals – to get more bench scoring."

To Boone, We Go
Troy heads north to Boone, N.C., to face the Mountaineers of Appalachian State on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 11 a.m.

Homestand Numbers
• Troy remains perfect against Marshall as it improves to 2-0 against the defending SBC champions by a combined margin of victory at plus-10.5.
• For the fifth time under Rigby, the Trojans advance to 4-0 at home (2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22) and 2-0 to start SBC play in Trojan Arena (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20).
• Dyer recorded her eighth double-double of the season and her team-leading 16^th in the Georgia native's career with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• The third quarter decided the game as the Trojans shot 8-of-14 from the field (57.1 percent) and 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) at the charity stripe while holding Marshall to 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) and 0-of-0, respectively.
• Baez set a new career-high in rebounds with seven – her previous high was six against Toledo (Dec. 18, 2024).
• Troy shot 86.7 percent from the charity stripe over Marshall to improve to 7-1, 1-0 SBC when shooting above 70 percent at the line.