Women’s Basketball Controls Second Half to Defeat ULM

Wednesday, January 14

Monroe, La.

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

14-3,5-1Sun Belt

ULM

7-9,2-5Sun Belt

Troy

ULM

Women’s Basketball Controls Second Half to Defeat ULM

1/14/2026 10:31:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

MONROE, La. – After finding itself down at the half, 37-33, Troy controlled the second half, outscoring ULM 53-43 in the final 20 minutes and securing the 86-80 victory Wednesday night in the Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

With the victory, the Trojans (14-3, 5-1 SBC) now sit tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference, claiming their 15^th win in the last 16 meetings over the Warhawks (7-9, 2-5 SBC). They also improved to 7-2 in their last nine meetings in the Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Zay Dyer dominated the Warhawks with her 12^th career 20-plus point game on 24 points and 13 rebounds, retaking the lead in the conference for double-doubles (9). Sixteen of her 24 points came in the second half. Fortuna Ngnawo (12), Ashley Baez (15) and Rachel Leggett (14) all finished in double-figures for scoring, erupting in the second half with 10, eight and eight points, respectively. As a team, Troy shot 50.7 percent from the floor, including 60.6 percent in the second half.

Nakiyah Mays-Prince played 36 minutes to lead the Warhawks with 23 points, six steals and four assists. Off the bench, Jazmine Jackson (11) and J'Mani Ingram (18) combined for 8-of-10 at the line and scored double-digits. Despite shooting 40.3 percent from the floor, the Warhawks lost the turnover battle in the second half, 10-7, with the Trojans scoring 14 points off turnovers compared to their four.

Battle to the Finish
After ULM boosted its lead to six, 39-33, 47 seconds into the second half, Troy launched a 7-0 run with free throws from Ngnawo, a 3-pointer by Emani Jenkins and a fastbreak layup for Leggett to retake the lead, 40-39, with 7:54 on the clock.

Both sides exchanged buckets over the next three minutes before another 7-0 run by Troy gave it the 54-48 advantage, and the team held the lead for the game. Shakirah Edwards started the run with a jumper and finished it with two free throws – Dyer scored the other three points on a free throw and a jumper in the paint.

Five minutes and eight seconds into the fourth quarter, Dyer hit the hook shot after a steal and assist for Lana Koricanac to give Troy its largest lead of the game, 75-68. Over the next four minutes, ULM made it a one-possession game, 82-80, when Mays-Prince converted the and-one and left 54 seconds on the clock.

The Warhawks had a chance to tie the game after stealing the ball from Troy, but Leggett returned the favor and found Baez, who converted a free throw, 83-80, with 25 seconds left. ULM called the timeout and missed the designed 3-pointer, allowing Dyer to draw the foul and make her first free throw, 84-80. After missing the second, Leggett secured the offensive rebound and brought the clock to 13 seconds before Baez got sent to the line. The senior guard made her second and third free throws in the final 30 seconds, 86-80, to ice the game and survive the Warhawks.

First Half Summary
Troy held the 6-5 advantage 1:54 into the ballgame when Ngnawo stole the ball, and Dyer polished off the second-chance tip-in. Over the next seven minutes, ULM controlled the game, ballooning its lead to eight when Jackson made a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left in the first.

Leggett turned the momentum in the final seconds of the first quarter when she stole the ball back from the Warhawks and finished the fastbreak lay-in with one second on the clock, starting a 7-0 run that went into the second quarter.

Troy's Leggett continued the run 12 seconds into the second quarter with a pull-up jumper before Baez hit the 3-pointer off an assist from Saniya Jackson to trim the deficit to one, 18-17, one minute into the second. Troy would take its first lead of the second quarter with 5:43 on the clock, 24-23, when Jenkins hit from behind the arc.

The lead changed seven more times in the second quarter, with Troy holding its largest with 1:44 on the clock, 33-30, off a second-chance layup from Dyer before ULM ended the half up four, 37-33.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're very fortunate to come out of Monroe with a win. Credit to ULM. They had a really solid gameplan under a great new head coach. We got off to a rough start with a lot of turnovers. But this team fought through, especially towards the end of the third quarter. The biggest changes we made at halftime was spreading the offense, so we could attack the post. And defensively, we kept switching when we made subs. Plus, when we put Lana in, she answered the call and hit some big shots. Now, we go back to the hotel, get well rested, get some nutrition in us, and get ready for a long bus ride tomorrow to face Texas State."

Up Next
The Trojans stay on the road as they continue west to the Lone Star state for the second matchup with Texas State on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m.

Clutch Stats
• Zay Dyer took sole possession of the league lead for double-doubles with her ninth on 24 points and 13 rebounds.
• For the eighth time in the last nine games, Rachel Leggett finished with double-digits in the scoring column with 14.
• Emani Jenkins made three from behind the arc for her 10^th game with 3-plus 3-pointers.
• With the victory, Troy is now 15-1 in its last 16 meetings with ULM and 7-2 in its last nine at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
• The Trojans won the turnover battle with 17 steals and 21 points off turnovers compared to the Warhawks' 12 and 17, respectively.
• Lana Koricanac secured career-highs in blocks (1) and assists (2) in the win over ULM.
• Troy shot 60.2 percent from the field in the second half to shoot above 50 percent (50.7) for the fifth time in 2025-26 – the Trojans are 5-0 when they shoot above 50 percent and 12-1 when shooting above 40 percent.