Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, November 12
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
3-0,0-0Sun Belt
73
vs
56
Chattanooga
2-2,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
Chattanooga
20
7
5
24
56
Troy
18
16
21
18
73
Women’s Basketball Uses Third-Quarter Surge to Continue Perfect Start
11/12/2025 9:32:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – Troy women's basketball continued its perfect start with a second-quarter surge, where they outscored Chattanooga 21-5 to walk away victorious, 73-56, on Wednesday night in Trojan Arena.
With a 3-0 start, the Trojans opened the year with three straight wins for the first time since 2019-20. It also marks the first time in program history that Troy began a season with three consecutive double-digit victories. The win was the Trojans' third over Chattanooga (2-2) in the past year, moving head coach Chanda Rigby to 5-0 against the Mocs.
Zay Dyer and Ashley Baez led the way, combining for 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Dyer notched her second straight double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds, moving into seventh all-time among Troy's Division I rebounders with 639. She also tied for a team-high two blocks. Baez hit a career-high five 3-pointers to finish with a team-best 18 points.
Defensively, Troy held Chattanooga to 31.6 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Mocs scored just 12 points combined in the second and third quarters. Caia Elisaldez led Chattanooga with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists but also had a team-high four turnovers.
Surge to the Win
Chattanooga led 22-18 with 9:41 on the clock in the second quarter after a layup from Elisaldez, but Baez swung momentum with a 3-pointer assisted by Rachel Leggett to cut the deficit to one.
After a brief exchange of baskets, the teams were tied at 27 with 3:52 left in the half. From there, Troy closed the half on a 7-0 run with a Dyer second-chance lay-in, a layup from Fortuna Ngnawo and an and-one by Saniya Jackson to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
The Trojans carried that momentum into the third quarter. After a scoreless opening 1:31, Dyer scored five straight points to give Troy its first double-digit lead at 39-27. The Trojans extended the run to 14-0 behind baskets from Ngnawo and Baez, making it 44-27 with 6:16 left in the quarter.
Chattanooga briefly stopped the run with a jumper from Kalifa Ford, but Troy still outscored the Mocs 21-5 in the quarter, building a 55-32 lead. The Trojan defense limited Chattanooga to just 1-of-13 shooting and 0-of-6 from 3-point range in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, Troy pushed its advantage to 29 points, 63-34, following two Baez 3-pointers and a Dyer putback. The Trojans coasted from there, sealing a 73-56 victory as Leilani Guion hit back-to-back jumpers to close the game.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're certainly proud to start 3-0, and to win by significant margins is a feat in itself. There are so many things that we are getting better at. Ashley was guarding Chattanooga's SoCon Player of the Year and did a great job defensively while shooting the lights out with five triples. Zay nearly had 15 rebounds in the first half, and that was the only thing that wasn't sluggish to start. We were missing assignments throughout the first half, but they responded and fixed those mistakes in the second. Now, we have arguably our three hardest games coming up, so we need to be ready for those."
3-0 Stats
• Zay Dyer claimed her second straight double-double against Chattanooga with 14 points and 17 rebounds – she also had two blocks.
• For the third straight game to open 2025-26, Fortuna Ngnawo ended the game in double-figures with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
• From the moment the Trojans were tied with the Mocs at 27 with 3:52 left in the first half, they outscored the opposition, 28-5, into the end of the third quarter.
• With the win over Chattanooga, the Trojans start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2019-20, when they won the regular season title. It's the first time Troy's started 3-0 with double-digit wins in each in program history.
• Ashley Baez's 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc marked a career high in made 3-pointers.
• With her 14-point, 17-rebound effort, Zay Dyer moved to seventh in career Division I rebounds (639) and is 15 points shy of 1,000 career points.
With a 3-0 start, the Trojans opened the year with three straight wins for the first time since 2019-20. It also marks the first time in program history that Troy began a season with three consecutive double-digit victories. The win was the Trojans' third over Chattanooga (2-2) in the past year, moving head coach Chanda Rigby to 5-0 against the Mocs.
Zay Dyer and Ashley Baez led the way, combining for 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Dyer notched her second straight double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds, moving into seventh all-time among Troy's Division I rebounders with 639. She also tied for a team-high two blocks. Baez hit a career-high five 3-pointers to finish with a team-best 18 points.
Defensively, Troy held Chattanooga to 31.6 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Mocs scored just 12 points combined in the second and third quarters. Caia Elisaldez led Chattanooga with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists but also had a team-high four turnovers.
Surge to the Win
Chattanooga led 22-18 with 9:41 on the clock in the second quarter after a layup from Elisaldez, but Baez swung momentum with a 3-pointer assisted by Rachel Leggett to cut the deficit to one.
After a brief exchange of baskets, the teams were tied at 27 with 3:52 left in the half. From there, Troy closed the half on a 7-0 run with a Dyer second-chance lay-in, a layup from Fortuna Ngnawo and an and-one by Saniya Jackson to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
The Trojans carried that momentum into the third quarter. After a scoreless opening 1:31, Dyer scored five straight points to give Troy its first double-digit lead at 39-27. The Trojans extended the run to 14-0 behind baskets from Ngnawo and Baez, making it 44-27 with 6:16 left in the quarter.
Chattanooga briefly stopped the run with a jumper from Kalifa Ford, but Troy still outscored the Mocs 21-5 in the quarter, building a 55-32 lead. The Trojan defense limited Chattanooga to just 1-of-13 shooting and 0-of-6 from 3-point range in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, Troy pushed its advantage to 29 points, 63-34, following two Baez 3-pointers and a Dyer putback. The Trojans coasted from there, sealing a 73-56 victory as Leilani Guion hit back-to-back jumpers to close the game.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're certainly proud to start 3-0, and to win by significant margins is a feat in itself. There are so many things that we are getting better at. Ashley was guarding Chattanooga's SoCon Player of the Year and did a great job defensively while shooting the lights out with five triples. Zay nearly had 15 rebounds in the first half, and that was the only thing that wasn't sluggish to start. We were missing assignments throughout the first half, but they responded and fixed those mistakes in the second. Now, we have arguably our three hardest games coming up, so we need to be ready for those."
3-0 Stats
• Zay Dyer claimed her second straight double-double against Chattanooga with 14 points and 17 rebounds – she also had two blocks.
• For the third straight game to open 2025-26, Fortuna Ngnawo ended the game in double-figures with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
• From the moment the Trojans were tied with the Mocs at 27 with 3:52 left in the first half, they outscored the opposition, 28-5, into the end of the third quarter.
• With the win over Chattanooga, the Trojans start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2019-20, when they won the regular season title. It's the first time Troy's started 3-0 with double-digit wins in each in program history.
• Ashley Baez's 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc marked a career high in made 3-pointers.
• With her 14-point, 17-rebound effort, Zay Dyer moved to seventh in career Division I rebounds (639) and is 15 points shy of 1,000 career points.
Team Stats
UTC
TROY
FG%
.316
.412
3FG%
.333
.348
FT%
.867
.750
RB
29
45
TO
15
15
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Basketball (W)Troy vs. Chattanooga (Full Highlights)
Wednesday, November 12
Player Postgame Press Conference (Zay Dyer, Ashley Baez) - Chattanooga
Wednesday, November 12
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Chattanooga
Wednesday, November 12
Tai'Sheka Porchia - Playing Professionally Overseas
Monday, November 10