Troy Edges Out Illinois State to Punch Ticket into WNIT Championship Game

Wednesday, April 2

Normal, Ill.

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

24-13,13-5Sun Belt

Illinois State

24-13,14-6MVC

Troy

Illinois St.

Troy Edges Out Illinois State to Punch Ticket into WNIT Championship Game

4/2/2025 10:03:00 PM | Basketball (W)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

NORMAL, Ill. – In its second WNIT Fab 4 appearance, the Troy women's basketball program narrowly edges out Illinois State, 99-96, on Wednesday night in the CEFCU Arena to punch a ticket at Buffalo in the WNIT Championship game.

In their first meeting with the Redbirds (24-13), the Trojans (24-13) erupted from behind the arc with 13 made triples while winning the turnover battle, 15-7, to make the program's first-ever postseason championship appearance.

For the second game in a row, Briana Peguero lifted the Trojans behind a career-high of 28 points, with six made triples to tie her with 20 different Trojans for the second-most triples in a game. For the fifth straight game, five Trojans finished in double-figures as Fortuna Ngnawo continued her WNIT run with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Emani Jenkins trailed Peguero by one triple as she scored all five of her buckets from deep for 15 points. Zay Dyer (13), Brianna Jackson (11) and Ashley Baez (10) also finished with 10-plus points en route to the Fab 4 victory.

Shannon Dowell was nearly unstoppable for the Redbirds as she dropped 37 points on 13 made field goals and an 8-of-8 showing at the charity stripe – she also led Illinois State with four turnovers. Nevaeh Thomas joined in, shooting 6-of-8 from the field for 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Maya Wong (13), Elyce Knudsen (12) and Doneelah Washington (11) followed her in double-figures – freshman Washington also tied to lead the Redbirds with seven boards.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way
Illinois State fought back after Jenkins third straight triple, taking the 45-42 lead heading into the break as Dowell knocked down the 3-pointer with 0:03 showing on the clock. The Redbirds flipped the script in the third quarter, as they outscored the Trojans 26-22, where they took a 70-60 lead with 1:06 on the clock off an and-one by Dowell.

A triple from Knudsen kept Illinois State's nine-point lead with 7:43 remaining, 78-69, but Peguero had the response from deep, pulling up to open a 13-2 run 0:12 later. The run ended with 4:13 left as Dyer found Wagner, who pulled up from deep to take an 82-80 lead.

Both programs went back-and-forth for Illinois State to hold an 88-87 lead with 2:07 on the clock after Dowell drove inside for the lay-in. However, Baez turned the tide 0:07 later towards the Trojans, launching a 7-0 run as she went coast-to-coast for the layup, 89-88 – Peguero followed with a triple off a Wagner steal and Dyer hit a pair at the line for a 94-88 lead with 0:37 remaining.

For every free throw by Troy, the Redbirds responded with a triple as Wong cut the margin to one, 97-96, with 0:15 showing. After an intentional foul, Baez made it a two-point game, 98-96, with 0:12 left and Illinois State set up for its final play. Wagner had other plans as she swiped the ball from Dowell and hit one final free throw, 99-96, with less than a second remaining to punch Troy's ticket into the championship game.

16-2
After nearly five minutes of back-and-forth play, Illinois State finally broke out its largest lead of the first half, 20-15, when Dowell drove into the paint after getting the pass from Trista Fayta and finished the layup.

With 3:15 on the clock, Troy launched its attack as a miss inside was corralled by Ngnawo. The Trojans reset and Wagner found Peguero behind the perimeter, and she hit, 20-18, to start a 16-2 run that went into the second quarter.

The run continued quickly as Troy's Ngnawo tipped the ball and got the steal, finding Baez for the fastbreak layup and a tie game, 20-20, with 2:52 on the clock. Ngnawo went the scoring route 0:34 later as she hit the tip-in layup for a 22-20 lead.

Troy's final nine points on the run came via Jenkins and the 3-point line. First, after a miss by Illinois State, Dyer found her and she cashed in her first of five made threes, 25-20. Then, after a pullup jumper for Washington, Jenkins hit again on an assist by Ngnawo to end the first with a 28-22 lead – her third triple came 0:41 ticks into the second via a stepback, 31-22.

Championship Bound
The Trojans are title bound in the WNIT and will face Buffalo on April 5 at 4 p.m. in Alumni Arena.

Fab 4 Stats
• With a second straight victory on the road, the Trojans are 7-3 all-time in the WNIT and 3-0 on the road.
• For a second straight game, Peguero led the Trojans in scoring with a career-high 28 points on six triples.
• Troy was lethal from behind the arc with 13 makes behind the line, marking its fifth game with double-digit triples – Troy is 47-6 in games under Rigby with 10-plus made triples.
• Wagner continued to facilitate the Trojan offense as she dished off 10 assists for her fifth game with double-digit assists.
• The Trojans advance to their first ever postseason championship game with the victory, beating Illinois State in their first meeting.
• Dyer scored in double-figures for her 12^th straight game as she had 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting.