Troy University Athletics
Troy University
2-0,0-0Sun Belt
Mississippi Valley State
0-1,0-0SWAC
Women’s Basketball Claims Revenge in Blowout Victory Over Mississippi Valley State
11/6/2025 3:38:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – In back-to-back games to start 2025-26, the Troy women's basketball program avenged losses from last year with a 95-50 win over Mississippi Valley State on Monday afternoon in Trojan Arena.
Despite a tight start, ending the first quarter up 18-17, the Trojans (2-0) forced 35 turnovers, converting them into 39 points. The Troy defense also held Mississippi Valley State (0-1) to 31.8 percent shooting and won the rebound battle 53-41.
The 2-0 start is the first for Troy since 2022-23 and the fifth of head coach Chanda Rigby's tenure. Fortuna Ngnawo led the charge with her second career game with 20-plus points at 22 – she also tied her career-high of four blocks set in the season-opener against Toledo. Freshman guard Saniya Jackson came off the bench and produced 17 points, two steals and four rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. Troy also had eight players with multiple steals, including five from Kamesha Moore.
Mississippi Valley State's Jaeda Murphy was the lone Devilette in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting but committing a team-high six turnovers. Each Devilette recorded at least one turnover, with nine players committing multiple. Taylor Crawford added three steals, while Murphy collected two. The Devilettes couldn't sustain their 43.8 percent first-quarter shooting, getting outscored 78-33 over the final three quarters.
Trojan Takeover in the Second
With the score at 18-17 to start the second quarter, the Trojans took over, holding the Devilettes scoreless for the first five minutes while going on an 18-0 run fueled by Ngnawo, Moore, Rachel Leggett and Jackson.
Ngnawo opened the second with four straight points as she drew the foul and hit a pair at the line before a steal by Jackson allowed the senior forward to finish at the other end, 22-17, with 8:51 left.
Another steal, this time by Leggett, allowed Moore to hit from deep at the top of the arc, before Jackson converted a layup for the 10-point advantage, 27-17, with 7:24 on the clock. Leggett followed with an and-one before Jackson went back-to-back from deep to balloon the advantage to 19, 36-17 – 5:14 remaining in the half.
The Trojans managed to extend the lead to as much as 22 off a block by Ngnawo and a lay-in for Dyer on the other end, 41-19, with three minutes left in the half. Overall, the Trojans shot 40.9 percent from the field and 3-of-6 from deep while holding the Devilettes to 3-of-15 (20 percent) on the floor to outscore them 25-9.
Kylah McCullers brought the margin down to 13, 50-37, at the 3:40 mark in the third quarter, but Jackson responded nine seconds later with a layup, 52-37. Jackson's bucket carried the momentum back to Troy as it ended the third quarter up 36, 77-41, with back-to-back triples from Emani Jenkins.
Ngnawo continued the 3-point game for Troy with her second career triple (her first was in the third quarter with 9:01 left) to push the advantage to 39, 80-41, 0:37 into the final 10 minutes. Troy's defense did the rest, holding Mississippi Valley State to just nine points in the fourth quarter to win 95-50 and start 2-0.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
It's a great day in Trojan Arena, and we thank everyone who came out. It's great to start 2-0 and create this momentum. That's what we talked about in the locker room before the game. We were trying to build momentum with a win today, and we did that. Despite coming out a little slow, we built momentum throughout the game. Our freshmen and newcomers built momentum individually, especially with Jackson at 17 points. What an honor it is to have her here, doing what she's already doing as a freshman. And then Fortuna, she's doing so much for us, especially with back-to-back games with four blocks. Now we have Chattanooga, with whom we had two crazy battles last season. Now, we can't go backwards. We have to keep this momentum going into that game.
Chapter Two Stats
• With 9:01 left in the third quarter, Ngnawo hit her first career 3-pointer as a Trojan after going 0-for-8 previously – she also tied her career-high of four blocks set in the season-opener against Toledo.
• The victory gave Troy a 4-3 all-time series lead over Mississippi Valley State and its first home win against the program.
• Detavia Salter scored her first bucket as a Trojan, adding six points in the third quarter and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
• Jackson scored 17 points in 16 minutes, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line.
• Troy opens 2-0 for the first time since 2022-23, marking the fifth 2-0 start under Rigby.
• Moore became just the third active Trojan with five or more steals in a game (Division I only), finishing with a team-high five in 15 minutes.
