Women’s Basketball Rolls Through Toledo to Start 2025-26

Monday, November 3

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

Toledo

Women’s Basketball Rolls Through Toledo to Start 2025-26

11/3/2025 9:08:00 PM | Basketball (W)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – The Troy women's basketball program dominated Toledo 88-51 to kick off the new season with a victory Monday night in Trojan Arena.

The season-opening win snapped a two-game skid in openers for the Trojans (1-0) as head coach Chanda Rigby improved to 8-6 in season openers and 12-2 in home openers. In the MAC-SBC Challenge, Troy also returned to the win column, improving to 3-2 in the series.

All five Troy starters excelled in under 26 minutes of play, combining for all but 13 of the 88 points scored. Emani Jenkins shot well from behind the arc with a team-high three triples and a combined 7-of-11 shooting to lead the team with 18 points. Fortuna Ngnawo followed close behind with 17 points and a career-high four blocks, while Zay Dyer (16), Ashley Baez (12) and Rachel Leggett (11) also ended in double-figures.

Toledo (0-1) started the season with a loss for the first time since the 2018-19 season, due to a 25.9 percent shooting performance in the ballgame, including a fourth quarter where they went 0-of-10 from the field – the Rockets scored just two points in the fourth on free throws. Evalyse Cole still performed with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Kendall Carruthers also added 11 points off two triples.

Flawless First Half
Troy came out of the gates strong after Toledo tied the game at four with 7:30 left in the first. Ngnawo ramped things up for the Trojans with a pair of free throws, 6-4, 16 seconds later. A miss by the Rockets allowed Jenkins to pull up from behind the arc to push the advantage to five, 9-4, with 6:47 left in the quarter.

The Rockets weren't quiet as they made a five-point burst, 15-9, after a Leggett layup pushed the advantage to 11. First, they attacked with a triple from Carruthers, before No. 4 followed with a fast break layup off the Troy turnover – 5:13 on the clock.

Opening the second quarter, Dyer capitalized on a Toledo shot-clock violation to push the advantage back to double-digits, 24-14, 1:40 into the second. After Toledo trimmed the margin back to eight off a pair at the charity stripe, Troy went on a 14-0 run that opened with six-straight points from Baez off a triple and an and-one, 30-16.

Dyer kept the run going as a personal foul allowed Baez to find the senior forward for a fastbreak triple, 33-16. A turnover by Toledo allowed Leilani Guion to take it the distance for two, before Baez capped off the run with a 3-pointer, off the assist from Saniya Jackson, to hold a 22-point advantage, 38-16, with 6:25 left in the first half.

Job Finished
After shooting 75 percent on 12 made field goals and six triples in the second quarter, Troy headed into the break with a 52-33 advantage. After a turnover to open the second half for the Rockets, Ngnawo got the first bucket of the half with a lay-in, 0:32 into the half, for a 54-33 lead.

Toledo kept battling back once the Trojans pushed the lead to 28 on three occasions. The final occasion was with 0:33 left in the third quarter, when Leggett, Jenkins, Baez and Ngnawo combined for a 7-0 run to make the score 76-48.

The margin ballooned to as much as 38, 88-50, when Kamesha Moore hit her first career points as a Trojan at the charity stripe with 0:56 on the clock. Quarter No. 4 saw the offensive pace slow down as the Trojan defense held Toledo to zero made field goals in the fourth quarter and just two points off free throws, opening the season with an 88-51 victory.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"It was definitely a great night in Trojan Arena. In the locker room before the game, we talked about how important it was to start great. We really worked for a great start and got it. We did our same old with winning the rebound battle, but the new things, like our defensive pressure, really stood out. We exhausted them, and it allowed us to hold them to no points from the field in the fourth quarter. It's just so nice to start with a win. That's your foundation. And if you can build on a foundation that strong, you can build it as high as you want. And we're ready to build on it."

Season Opener Stats
• Troy had a perfect second quarter as it shot 75 percent from the field on 16 attempts (14 made). The team also went 6-of-8 from behind the arc to hold a 19-point advantage at the break.
• Fortuna Ngnawo rejected a career-high four shots – her first game with 3-plus blocks to become the second active Trojan with such a feat.
• Rachel Leggett made her first career start as a Trojan (50^th career start in D-I) and polished it with 11 points and six rebounds.
• With the victory, Troy now sits 2-3 in the MAC-SBC Challenge with its first win in the season-opener of the challenge.
• Head coach Chanda Rigby improves to 12-2 in home openers and 8-6 in season openers to kick off her 14^thseason.
• All five of the Trojan starting five ended in double-figures via Emani Jenkins (18), Fortuna Ngnawo (17), Zay Dyer (16), Ashley Baez (12) and Rachel Leggett (11).