Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, February 12
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
16-10,10-3Sun Belt
84
vs
71
ULM
9-15,5-8Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
ULM
15
25
21
10
71
Troy
21
18
25
20
84
Troy Claims 14th Straight Win Over ULM
2/12/2025 10:00:00 PM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – Troy dominated the fourth quarter on 57.1 percent shooting to secure a 14th straight victory over ULM, 84-71, on Wednesday night in Trojan Arena.
The 13-point victory pushes Troy (16-10, 10-3 SBC) into sole place of third in the Sun Belt Conference and 8-1, 6-0 SBC in Trojan Arena. ULM (9-15, 5-8 SBC) falls for its fourth straight league game to drop to ninth.
Khila Morris erupted in 27 minutes off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field to become the first player since La'Tia Fils-Aime' (7-of-7 – Thomas) on Nov. 21, 2016, to shoot 100 percent (min. five shots). Brianna Jackson tied Morris with a team-high 16 points, scoring double-figures in seven of the last eight games and rejecting three blocks. The SBC leader in double-doubles notched her first since Louisiana (Jan. 25) and 12th overall on a 12-point, 11-rebound performance. Her 11 rebounds moved her over Tai'Sheka Porchia for the ninth-most D-I rebounds in a single season (273).
Meloney Thames led ULM with a 26-point performance on 10-of-21 from the field and five triples. Jakayla Johnson played sidekick with 17 points, four assists and a team-high three steals, while Sakyia White dominated the board with 14 rebounds. The Warhawks shot well at 40 percent from the field and 44.4 from deep but were limited to 50 percent at the charity stripe. Defensively, they allowed Troy to shoot 49.3 percent from the field, including 57.1 in the fourth quarter to drop the game.
Second Half, Our Half
The Trojans headed into the halftime break down 40-39 after six ties and five lead changes. Both teams shot efficiently, as Troy hit 50 percent of its shots while ULM had a 47.1 percent clip. The difference was the turnover margin, where ULM held the 12-7 advantage.
ULM entered the third quarter by expanding the advantage to four, 43-39, on a fastbreak bucket from Ciante Downs and a 1-of-2 trip at the line for Johnson. The opposition held the advantage to 6:24 on the clock when Johnson converted the jumper in the paint, 48-46.
Jackson's free throw opened a 9-0 run by the Trojans 0:14 later. Mo missed her second attempt at the stripe, but Morris was there to grab the miss and hit the putback lay-in. Fortuna Ngnawo swiped the ball from Thames and went coast-to-coast with 5:54 left, 51-48.
Troy's run continued when Morris hit one at the line, and a miss by ULM allowed Ashley Baez, who finished with 10 points, to bang in a triple, 55-48, with 5:09 left in the third. The Warhawks clawed back before the start of the fourth, outscoring Troy 13-6 to head into the final 10 minutes down 64-61.
Dyer and Morris set the tone for the final quarter when the Atlanta native rejected White's shot. Shaulana Wagner found Morris on the fastbreak finish, 66-61 – Dyer scored two possessions later on a layup, 68-61, with 8:02 on the clock.
Both sides exchanged blows over the next 3:13 when Thames drilled a triple to cut the Troy lead to three, 73-70. However, Baez went on a 4-0 run over her own, 77-70, when she scored inside, swiped the ball from Downs, and raced coast-to-coast for another layup with 4:23 remaining.
Jackson and Briana Peguero took over from Baez's makes when the Oklahoma State transfer grabbed the offensive board and hit the tip-in layup, 79-70. Troy's lead reached 11, 81-70, when Dyer stole the ball from Thames, and Peguero finished the fastbreak with a layup off a Baez assist.
ULM managed one more make at the line from Johnson, 81-71, with 2:27 on the clock before Peguero delivered the dagger, 84-71, with her 28th triple in the last 11 games.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
I see so much growth from the team. There's a great bounce back from the MAC-SBC Challenge last game. We understand that we're going down the stretch. There were six games left, and now there are five, and we want to grow in maturity and be able to play the hardest and just draw on our emotions of what it's like to want it more than anybody else to win these last games. We can't take any game or any quarter for granted. They held them to 15 in the first quarter and were focused on the defense, and then again in the fourth quarter, we held them to 10. So those are significant signs of growth. But I'm very proud of Khila, who went 5-of-5 from the field with only one turnover. She came off the bench and played perfect."
"Regarding Saturday, we just want it to end well for the seniors. I'm trying not to think about senior night. I just really have to go through the motions because I coach a basketball game right after, so I can't be out there crying, but that's what I would do if I let myself. They mean so much to me. They mean so much to this program. They've already contributed so much to this program. I'm proud that they said yes to Troy, and they're so proud they said yes to Troy. They love Troy; they're great Trojans, and it will be hard to let them go."
Senior Day
The Trojans celebrate their six senior players on Saturday at 3:33 p.m. in Trojan Arena when they face Southern Miss.
14-0 Notes
• Khila Morris erupted in 27 minutes off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field to become the first player since La'Tia Fils-Aime' (7-of-7 – Thomas) on Nov. 21, 2016, to shoot 100 percent (min. five shots).
• The victory over ULM marks the 14th straight for Troy and improves its record to 11-5 in Trojan Arena.
• Troy's bench lifted it to victory, outscoring ULM's bench 39-14.
• Troy dominated the fourth quarter, shooting 47.1 percent from the field while limiting ULM to 22.2 percent.
• Baez finished with 10 points and three steals to score double-figures in 19-of-26 starts and swiped multiple steals in 14-of-26.
• Jackson ended with three blocks, averaging 4.0 in the last two games to tie Felmas Koranga (2021-22) for the most D-I single-season blocks.
• Dyer returned to double-double form, collecting her league-leading 12th double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Dyer's 11 rebounds surpassed Tai'Sheka Porchia (2023-24 – 272) for the most D-I rebounds in a single season (273).
• Troy improved to 13-0, 9-0 SBC when scoring over 80 points.
The 13-point victory pushes Troy (16-10, 10-3 SBC) into sole place of third in the Sun Belt Conference and 8-1, 6-0 SBC in Trojan Arena. ULM (9-15, 5-8 SBC) falls for its fourth straight league game to drop to ninth.
Khila Morris erupted in 27 minutes off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field to become the first player since La'Tia Fils-Aime' (7-of-7 – Thomas) on Nov. 21, 2016, to shoot 100 percent (min. five shots). Brianna Jackson tied Morris with a team-high 16 points, scoring double-figures in seven of the last eight games and rejecting three blocks. The SBC leader in double-doubles notched her first since Louisiana (Jan. 25) and 12th overall on a 12-point, 11-rebound performance. Her 11 rebounds moved her over Tai'Sheka Porchia for the ninth-most D-I rebounds in a single season (273).
Meloney Thames led ULM with a 26-point performance on 10-of-21 from the field and five triples. Jakayla Johnson played sidekick with 17 points, four assists and a team-high three steals, while Sakyia White dominated the board with 14 rebounds. The Warhawks shot well at 40 percent from the field and 44.4 from deep but were limited to 50 percent at the charity stripe. Defensively, they allowed Troy to shoot 49.3 percent from the field, including 57.1 in the fourth quarter to drop the game.
Second Half, Our Half
The Trojans headed into the halftime break down 40-39 after six ties and five lead changes. Both teams shot efficiently, as Troy hit 50 percent of its shots while ULM had a 47.1 percent clip. The difference was the turnover margin, where ULM held the 12-7 advantage.
ULM entered the third quarter by expanding the advantage to four, 43-39, on a fastbreak bucket from Ciante Downs and a 1-of-2 trip at the line for Johnson. The opposition held the advantage to 6:24 on the clock when Johnson converted the jumper in the paint, 48-46.
Jackson's free throw opened a 9-0 run by the Trojans 0:14 later. Mo missed her second attempt at the stripe, but Morris was there to grab the miss and hit the putback lay-in. Fortuna Ngnawo swiped the ball from Thames and went coast-to-coast with 5:54 left, 51-48.
Troy's run continued when Morris hit one at the line, and a miss by ULM allowed Ashley Baez, who finished with 10 points, to bang in a triple, 55-48, with 5:09 left in the third. The Warhawks clawed back before the start of the fourth, outscoring Troy 13-6 to head into the final 10 minutes down 64-61.
Dyer and Morris set the tone for the final quarter when the Atlanta native rejected White's shot. Shaulana Wagner found Morris on the fastbreak finish, 66-61 – Dyer scored two possessions later on a layup, 68-61, with 8:02 on the clock.
Both sides exchanged blows over the next 3:13 when Thames drilled a triple to cut the Troy lead to three, 73-70. However, Baez went on a 4-0 run over her own, 77-70, when she scored inside, swiped the ball from Downs, and raced coast-to-coast for another layup with 4:23 remaining.
Jackson and Briana Peguero took over from Baez's makes when the Oklahoma State transfer grabbed the offensive board and hit the tip-in layup, 79-70. Troy's lead reached 11, 81-70, when Dyer stole the ball from Thames, and Peguero finished the fastbreak with a layup off a Baez assist.
ULM managed one more make at the line from Johnson, 81-71, with 2:27 on the clock before Peguero delivered the dagger, 84-71, with her 28th triple in the last 11 games.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
I see so much growth from the team. There's a great bounce back from the MAC-SBC Challenge last game. We understand that we're going down the stretch. There were six games left, and now there are five, and we want to grow in maturity and be able to play the hardest and just draw on our emotions of what it's like to want it more than anybody else to win these last games. We can't take any game or any quarter for granted. They held them to 15 in the first quarter and were focused on the defense, and then again in the fourth quarter, we held them to 10. So those are significant signs of growth. But I'm very proud of Khila, who went 5-of-5 from the field with only one turnover. She came off the bench and played perfect."
"Regarding Saturday, we just want it to end well for the seniors. I'm trying not to think about senior night. I just really have to go through the motions because I coach a basketball game right after, so I can't be out there crying, but that's what I would do if I let myself. They mean so much to me. They mean so much to this program. They've already contributed so much to this program. I'm proud that they said yes to Troy, and they're so proud they said yes to Troy. They love Troy; they're great Trojans, and it will be hard to let them go."
Senior Day
The Trojans celebrate their six senior players on Saturday at 3:33 p.m. in Trojan Arena when they face Southern Miss.
14-0 Notes
• Khila Morris erupted in 27 minutes off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field to become the first player since La'Tia Fils-Aime' (7-of-7 – Thomas) on Nov. 21, 2016, to shoot 100 percent (min. five shots).
• The victory over ULM marks the 14th straight for Troy and improves its record to 11-5 in Trojan Arena.
• Troy's bench lifted it to victory, outscoring ULM's bench 39-14.
• Troy dominated the fourth quarter, shooting 47.1 percent from the field while limiting ULM to 22.2 percent.
• Baez finished with 10 points and three steals to score double-figures in 19-of-26 starts and swiped multiple steals in 14-of-26.
• Jackson ended with three blocks, averaging 4.0 in the last two games to tie Felmas Koranga (2021-22) for the most D-I single-season blocks.
• Dyer returned to double-double form, collecting her league-leading 12th double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Dyer's 11 rebounds surpassed Tai'Sheka Porchia (2023-24 – 272) for the most D-I rebounds in a single season (273).
• Troy improved to 13-0, 9-0 SBC when scoring over 80 points.
Team Stats
ULM
TROY
FG%
.400
.493
3FG%
.444
.333
FT%
.500
.650
RB
33
49
TO
15
19
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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G
/ Basketball (W)Ashley Beverly Kelley - Troy University Sports Hall of Fame
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Chanda Rigby WNIT Championship Press Conference
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Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Illinois State
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