No. 3 Troy Ends No. 11 Marshall’s Cinderella Run, Advance to Face No. 2 Arkansas State in Semifinals

Saturday, March 8

Pensacola, Fla.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

20-12,13-5Sun Belt

Marshall

15-20,6-12Sun Belt

Marshall

Troy

No. 3 Troy Ends No. 11 Marshall’s Cinderella Run, Advance to Face No. 2 Arkansas State in Semifinals

3/8/2025 6:29:00 PM | Basketball (W)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 3 Troy women's basketball program bounced No. 11 Marshall in blowout fashion, 85-54, to advance into the semifinals on Saturday afternoon in the Pensacola Bay Center.

With the quarterfinal round win, the Trojans (20-12, 13-5 SBC) end a two-game losing streak in the respective round and three straight overall in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. They eye No. 2 Arkansas State on Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. for a spot in the championship game.

Coming off the bench, Fortuna Ngnawo led the Trojans on her fifth double-double, ending with a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds – she shot 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line. All-Sun Belt First Team honoree Zay Dyer helped boost the post on 5-of-8 shooting for 16 points. Briana Peguero became the third Trojan in double-figures with 10 points, scoring seven in the final quarter. Defensively, the Trojans were flawless, with 12 blocks from nine players. They also held the Thundering Herd to 10 percent shooting (2-of-20) in the third and 15.8 percent (3-of-19) in the fourth.

The Sun Belt's leading scorer, Aislynn Hayes, did all she could for Marshall (15-20, 6-12 SBC), going 9-of-11 from the line for 23 points – she shot 6-of-19 from the field. Timberlynn Yeast also propelled Marshall with an 8-point, 12-rebound performance as the team's most efficient shooter at 3-of-7. But the Thundering Herd ran out of steam, shooting 21.6 percent in the loss while giving up 62 rebounds to the Trojans.

Sprint to the Semifinals
Marshall drew first to open the second half with a free throw from Meredith Maier, 40-35, 0:21 into the third. The Trojans responded by pushing the advantage to double digits, 45-35, with 6:33 left in the third on a free throw from Brianna Jackson, a jumper by Dyer and another from Ngnawo.

The Thundering Herd brought the deficit down to six off two free throws from Hayes before the Trojans ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to open the fourth with a 57-43 lead. Khila Morris opened for Troy with a jumper, 51-43, and blocked Hayes' shot on the other end. After a pair at the charity stripe from Morris, Ngnawo scored four straight points to end the quarter.

Ngnawo continued her onslaught on the scoring column with four of Troy's first six points of the final quarter to continue a 14-0 run that ballooned the lead to 20, 63-43, with 8:45 remaining – Peguero scored the other bucket on a steal-and-score.

A triple by Maier cut the margin to 18, 66-48, with 7:00 on the clock, but the margin never got lower as Troy went on to score 10 straight points, 76-48, from Peguero (5), Dyer (2) and Emani Jenkins (3). The Trojans held the blowout for the rest of regulation, hitting their biggest lead of 31, 85-54, from Adriana Jones at the line on the final points of the quarterfinal round.

Pull-Ahead
Neither side could pull away in the first 14 minutes of action as Dyer tied the game at 25 apiece with 6:22 remaining in the second on a jumper and assist from Ashley Baez. The junior forward went back-to-back with a fastbreak layup off a Ngnawo steal, followed by a jumper for Morris to take a 29-25 advantage with 5:31 left in the half.

Marshall's Yeast and Ngnawo traded blows on the scoring column before Hayes hit the free throw with 4:02 left to cut the margin to three, 31-28, with 4:02 on the clock.

The following two minutes was all Troy as Jackson opened a 9-0 run with a pair of free throws, 33-28. After a missed triple from Marshall, Leilani Guion returned to the 3-point line. Baez found Guion from the top of the arc, and she delivered her second triple of the quarter, 36-28, with 2:59 remaining.

Dyer took over from there to finish the run with four straight points. First, the All-Sun Belt First Team member capitalized on a second-chance layup before she hit a pair at the line for a 40-28 lead with 1:56 left. The Thundering Herd ended the half with six straight points as the Trojans entered the break with a 40-34 advantage.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"I'm so thankful for this win. I don't think anyone else in the tournament knows how hard it is to win the tournament's first game after a long break with the byes. Marshall was the hottest team in the SBC, entering today with four straight wins in the conference tournament. But they ran out of steam. They've done an amazing job. But our team did an even better job handling the press and running the fastbreak. I knew they would have answers for our guards, but our advantage was the depth at the post position. You win tournaments by having that depth, and that's something we have, and it showed tonight. Now, we have less than 24 hours to prepare for Arkansas State and punch our ticket to the championship."

Semifinals Bound
The Trojans look at their third meeting with Arkansas State on Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal Stats
• The victory over Marshall marks the first in postseason history over the opposition – Troy pushed to 3-0 overall.
• Troy ended a three-game losing streak in the SBC Tournament and a two-game losing streak in the quarterfinals with the victory – the Trojans are 16-15 overall in the SBC Tournament.
• With their 20^th victory in 2024-25, the Trojans have won 20-plus games in nine of Rigby's 13 seasons.
• Ngnawo's 19-point, 12-rebound performance secured her fifth double-double.
• Troy held Marshall to a season-low 21.6 percent from the field, including 10 percent in the third (2-of-20) and 15.8 in the fourth (3-of-19) – Marshall shot 12.8 percent (5-of-39) in the second half and was outscored 45-20.
• Troy's 62 rebounds nearly tied its season-high in boards with 64 against Oakwood on Dec. 4, 2024. The Trojans won the battle on the boards 62-40, with 19 offensive rebounds for 29 second-chance points.