Troy University Athletics
Johnson's Journal - Fortuna Ngnawo Brings Strength, Storytelling to Troy Women’s Basketball
1/18/2026 12:17:00 PM | Basketball (W)
Troy University women's basketball player Fortuna Ngnawo, a 6-0 senior forward from Bafoussam City, Cameroon, has been writing about her teammates this season on a blog as part of a class project.
"Apart from basketball, I don't do much on campus, so I was like, 'OK, I'll write a blog about the team … like the insides of the team, because a lot of people don't get to see what goes on behind the scenes; they only see game days,'" Ngnawo said.
"That was my first time to have a platform like that and I really enjoyed it."
Truth be known, she's perhaps the most intriguing story on the team thus far.
Ngnawo has consistently recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds this season and has also been a surprising force as a shot-blocker.
"It's all about timing," Ngnawo said. "I always try to jump before the player even goes up, so by the time they go up, I'm already in the air and just get the ball."
Troy women's head basketball coach Chanda Rigby relies on Ngnawo to be a force on the inside despite not being as tall as many of her counterparts.
"I used to think a rim protector had to be 6-2, 6-2 with big and long arms," Rigby said. "Some of it is the timing and determination.
"She's also determined not to get herself in foul trouble … she does pretty good with that. That's important, too, because a lot of people that are physical inside are going to foul out a lot of the time, and that wouldn't help."
Coming to America
Ngnawo was 12 years old in her home country of Cameroon, located in Central Africa, when she first gave basketball a try.
"I was just walking my first day of school and the coach saw me and said, 'Come play basketball,'" she remembers. "I was like, 'Alright, I will try it.' And that's how it started. I fell in love with it. It was kind of natural to me."
Ngnawo also dabbled in tennis, track and gymnastics, but it was basketball in which she excelled and would be her path to the United States.
"My dream was always to get into the WNBA," Ngnawo said of her eventual goal of playing professionally.
Her first opportunity along that journey would be at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The powerhouse junior college basketball program got wind of Ngnawo through connections with a coach from Cameroon in the U.S.
"He knew the assistant coach at Cochise, so he contacted her and said, 'I have this list of players (from Cameroon) for you. Pick and choose who you want to get there.' I guess she liked my profile and that's how I got there. They offered me a scholarship."
Ngnawo boarded a flight for the first time in her life and headed to Cochise, where she would become a star on the JUCO level.
As a freshman, she started 33 of 34 games and averaged a double-double on 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in earning NJCAA second team All-American honors.
Things got even better during her sophomore season as Ngnawo was named the ACCAC (Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) Player of the Year and was a first team NJCAA All-American after averaging 16.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. She also helped Cochise to the NJCAA Region I championship during a win over Eastern Arizona College in which she scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, made two steals and blocked two shots.
Not surprising, Ngnawo was coveted by Division I colleges.
Troy Comes Calling
Rigby had a past connection with Cochise head coach Misty Opat and began recruiting Ngnawo after seeing her play in a junior college Top 40 all-star game.
"When I first got to Troy, the very first post player I recruited was at a junior college in Chicago and I got to know the coach (Opat) and we developed a great relationship," Rigby explained. "Since then, that coach moved to Arizona where Fortuna was. When we saw Fortuna and liked her, I knew we could have some help in that recruiting process because I have had a long relationship with that coach."
While Troy showed interest in Ngnawo, the player didn't reciprocate it right away.
"We went after her and she did not show a lot of interest in us for a very long time," Rigby said. "We did not know whether to stop recruiting her or stop calling her, but we didn't stop calling her. She's really close to the vest and doesn't show a lot of emotion, so if she did like Troy or wanted to be here, we didn't know.
"All of a sudden one day, she said, 'Yeah, I'm signing with y'all.' It was really close to signing day."
Ngnawo said the persistence of the Troy coaching staff clinched the deal.
"Coach (assistant, Jennifer) Graf and Coach (assistant, Stephanie) Murphy saw me at a JUCO tournament …top 40… and the first day at the camp, Coach Graf wasn't really interested in me, but Coach Murphy was," Ngnawo said.
"I had a bad game that day, but the second day I had a better game and Coach Graf was really impressed with my performance, so they reached out and kept reaching out every single day. That was something the other coaches that were recruiting me weren't doing.
"Since they were really interested in me, I thought maybe I can take a look into them. Coach Graf kept coming to Arizona and I appreciated that. I just felt like, 'That's where I want to be … a coach that keeps reaching out to me and coming even with the distance.'"
Once arriving on campus for a visit, Ngnawo was sold on playing for Troy.
"Well, it was all that they told me," Ngnawo said. "It was really a small town. Quiet and not a lot to do, but I enjoy that. I'm not really an extrovert."
The Right Fit
While Ngnawo was a bit undersized for a post player, Rigby liked the intangibles she displayed.
"When we were looking for a post player to sign, we were looking for at least a 6-2, 6-3," Rigby said. "But her qualities and her competitiveness … the way she knew how to use her body and her determination … it superseded what we thought we wanted.
"In talking to a lot of coaches who coached against her in her junior college years, they would constantly say things like they really expected her to be successful at the next level because she knows how to use her body. She can go up against a bigger post player and get them in foul trouble because she's stronger, smaller and knows how to use her body and can score around you."
The transition to Troy didn't come easy, even though Ngnawo played well in averaging 9.5 points and 7.7 rebounds during her first season with the Trojans.
"Last year, she came in here behind some really good post players and that was a bit hard for her, because she's just one of those personalities that needs to be the go-to," Rigby said. "She's more in her element this year because we need her every night to be great, and she loves that pressure that some people don't want."
Ngnawo isn't afraid to get physical while battling inside the paint.
"My coach (at Cochise) was very old-school,"Ngnawo said. "It was all about being physical and never backing down. I learned how to be really tough around her.
"I feel like that made me grow as a player because I can take any type of coaching because of her."
The Money Shot
In a rarity these days on the college level, Ngnawo loves to use the backboard when going up for a shot.
"When I started basketball, I had a coach who used to say it's good to shoot through the net, but the backboard is always a money shot - you can't go wrong using the backboard," Ngnawo said. "Sometimes when you drive to the basket, you can't always finish through the net. So, I went with the backboard and saw that it was working. I was like, 'Well, if it works, why change it … keep using it.' I can do a jump shot, or a turn-around - it's money."
Rigby loves seeing Ngnawo utilize the backboard.
"I've always believed in players using the backboard, but she has taken it to another level," Rigby said. "She'll even be two feet outside of the lane, and with all of her might … her back is to the basket and the defender is behind her … she'll just turn around with that left hand, knock that thing off the backboard and it's going in at a very high rate.
"I don't know how you would defend that. I haven't seen a kid embrace that in a very long time. She knows how to kiss it off that backboard and drop it in there. It's special."
All-Around Talent
While Ngnawo has become a steady scorer, she enjoys pulling down rebounds even more than tallying points.
"With offensive rebounding comes scoring and with defensive rebounding comes a lot of possessions to score," Ngnawo said. "I feel like when you get the rebound, you get that confidence. That first rebound of the game gets you going."
Rigby has the ultimate confidence in Ngnawo in whatever situation she puts her in.
"I don't know an assignment we could give her that she wouldn't be good at," Rigby said. "She's more out of her shell this year than last year.
"She seemed to be more to herself last year. This year, she's making friends all over campus … smiling and laughing more. Last year, she was totally serious. This year, she's kind of relaxed and more sociable."
But Ngnawo still enjoys some alone time.
"You might find it weird, but I like to play Call of Duty, Monopoly and Scrabble on my phone … those types of games," Ngnawo said. "I like to paint for kind of a release. But most of the time, I like to rest."
When it comes game time, however, Ngnawo is ready to battle.
"She's a true baller - a true competitor," Rigby said. "Some people play college basketball for many different reasons, but she really wants to become her best and compete at the highest level."
And along the way, share some insights of the team through her blog, which can be found at troyballinladies.wordpress.com
