Troy University Athletics
Saturday, January 3
Hattiesburg, Miss.
2 p.m.
Troy University
11-3,2-1Sun Belt
95
at
98
Southern Miss
10-5,3-1Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Troy
18
28
22
27
95
Southern Miss.
17
32
27
22
98
Women’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short at Southern Miss
1/3/2026 6:17:00 PM | Basketball (W)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – With 1.3 seconds on the clock, Ashley Baez couldn't get the shot off in time as Troy's fourth-quarter double-digit comeback fell short, 98-95, in the Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans (11-3, 2-1 SBC) suffered their first loss in Sun Belt Conference play despite scoring 95 points, marking their first defeat when scoring above 70 points. For the Lady Eagles (10-5, 3-1 SBC), they take the all-time series lead over the Trojans at 4-3.
All five Troy starters ended in double figures for the scoring column, accounting for 85 of their 95 points. Emani Jenkins (22) and Fortuna Ngnawo (24) led Troy in scoring, combining for 18-of-42 from the field. Jenkins hit six threes, while Ngnawo tied her career-high of 17 rebounds. Zay Dyer had eight of her rebounds and points in the second half to finish with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. Her 11 rebounds tied her with Donette McNair (767) for the most in a Division-I career at Troy. Baez and Rachel Leggett rounded out the Trojans' starting five with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Jakayla Johnson produced 30 points on 11 field goals and four threes to lead Southern Miss over Troy. Like Troy, all five starters finished with 10-plus points in the scoring column as Southern Miss shot 50.7 percent from the field with 11 3-pointers. They also won the battle at the charity stripe, going 13-of-17 from the line to outlast the rebound battle, where the Lady Eagles fell short to Troy 53-39.
Comeback Falls Short
USM started the fourth quarter by hitting a jumper to push the lead back to 10 before Troy mounted the comeback. The Trojans outscored the Lady Eagles 14-6 before the media timeout at the 5:03 mark. Jenkins sparked the run with her third 3-pointer of the ballgame with 9:31 remaining, and Baez ended it at the media timeout with her third 3-pointer with 4:47 on the clock.
Ngnawo got the assist from Jenkins and scored the jumper to tie the game at 84 out of the media timeout, completing the comeback with 4:42 left. Southern Miss pushed the advantage back to seven, 95-88, with 1:43 left before Troy made one last dash. On the following possession, Jenkins came out of the Troy timeout and made the lay-in, followed by a Dyer layup off the USM turnover, 95-92, with 1:08 left.
Johnson earned the second-chance bucket before Jenkins drilled the triple, 97-95, setting up the final 38 seconds. Southern Miss held the ball until 15 seconds showed, and Baez committed the foul, eliminating the shot clock and forcing the Trojans to commit the personal foul. Johnson went 1-of-2 at the line to give Troy a shot to tie the game with 10 seconds left. Following Troy's last timeout, Ngnawo missed the three, but Troy earned the deadball rebound. With 1.3 seconds remaining, Jenkins inbounded it to Baez, but she failed to get the shot off as Troy fell short in Hattiesburg.
Battle in the Burg
Leggett struck first as she scored Troy's first seven points. She started with her second 3-pointer of the season off the assist from Baez. Then, she grabbed the offensive rebound and finished the layup for a 5-0 lead. She polished it off with a fastbreak jumper, following Southern Miss' first bucket, 7-2, with 7:11 left in the opening quarter.
After USM trimmed the margin to one, 7-6, with 6:29 on the clock, Ngnawo got the dish from Baez and finished inside to open a 7-0 run. Jenkins hit from beyond the arc before Ngnawo scored again in the paint for a 14-6 lead with 4:52 left.
Southern Miss used the next eight minutes to lead the ballgame, 32-26, after a stepback jumper for Sakyia White. Both sides exchanged buckets over the next five minutes before Ngnawo went back-to-back via layups to tie the ballgame at 41 with 1:42 left.
The score would tie two more times in the first half at 43 and 46 after Ngnawo made another layup and Baez hit from deep. Southern Miss entered the break with a 49-46 lead, but Jenkins tied it once more in Troy's opening possession at 49 as Baez found her wide-open in the corner, 13 seconds into the second half.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're here in Hattiesburg and Southern Miss truly is one of the most talented teams in our conference. We just came up short. When you put up 95 points and don't win, you know you have some stuff to clean up. But we showed improvement in the fact that during the down moments, our team stayed positive. They battled through those times and that's why we were able to make the comeback. The dribble-drive is the place we need to work on, immediately reflecting on this game. I'm looking forward to watching the film and diving into this game. Because when you have a game like this, where you play a team at its best, you can teach a team the razor thin line between wins and losses."
Up Next
The Trojans return home as they welcome Texas State on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m.
Instant Classic Stats
• Fortuna Ngnawo returned to double-figures in the scoring column with 24 points for the 16th time in the last 17 games.
• For the fifth time in the last seven games, Fortuna Ngnawo secured a double-double on 24 points and 17 rebounds. Of her 17 rebounds, 11 came on the offensive end, marking the first Trojan since Zay Dyer on Jan. 25, 2025, to have double-digit offensive boards.
• Zay Dyer tied Donette McNair in career Division-I rebounds with 767.
• For the second time in 2025-26 (Missouri), two Trojans ended with 20-plus points via Emani Jenkins (22) and Fortuna Ngnawo (22).
• Zay Dyer extended her lead for the most double-doubles in the SBC with her seventh on 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• All five starters ended in double-figures for the scoring column, accounting for 85 of Troy's points.
• Despite the loss, Troy dominated the boards 53-39, with 26 coming on the offensive end.
• Emani Jenkins finished with six 3-pointers for 44 over the last 11 games for 4.4. She's scored 3-plus threes in nine games.
The Trojans (11-3, 2-1 SBC) suffered their first loss in Sun Belt Conference play despite scoring 95 points, marking their first defeat when scoring above 70 points. For the Lady Eagles (10-5, 3-1 SBC), they take the all-time series lead over the Trojans at 4-3.
All five Troy starters ended in double figures for the scoring column, accounting for 85 of their 95 points. Emani Jenkins (22) and Fortuna Ngnawo (24) led Troy in scoring, combining for 18-of-42 from the field. Jenkins hit six threes, while Ngnawo tied her career-high of 17 rebounds. Zay Dyer had eight of her rebounds and points in the second half to finish with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. Her 11 rebounds tied her with Donette McNair (767) for the most in a Division-I career at Troy. Baez and Rachel Leggett rounded out the Trojans' starting five with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Jakayla Johnson produced 30 points on 11 field goals and four threes to lead Southern Miss over Troy. Like Troy, all five starters finished with 10-plus points in the scoring column as Southern Miss shot 50.7 percent from the field with 11 3-pointers. They also won the battle at the charity stripe, going 13-of-17 from the line to outlast the rebound battle, where the Lady Eagles fell short to Troy 53-39.
Comeback Falls Short
USM started the fourth quarter by hitting a jumper to push the lead back to 10 before Troy mounted the comeback. The Trojans outscored the Lady Eagles 14-6 before the media timeout at the 5:03 mark. Jenkins sparked the run with her third 3-pointer of the ballgame with 9:31 remaining, and Baez ended it at the media timeout with her third 3-pointer with 4:47 on the clock.
Ngnawo got the assist from Jenkins and scored the jumper to tie the game at 84 out of the media timeout, completing the comeback with 4:42 left. Southern Miss pushed the advantage back to seven, 95-88, with 1:43 left before Troy made one last dash. On the following possession, Jenkins came out of the Troy timeout and made the lay-in, followed by a Dyer layup off the USM turnover, 95-92, with 1:08 left.
Johnson earned the second-chance bucket before Jenkins drilled the triple, 97-95, setting up the final 38 seconds. Southern Miss held the ball until 15 seconds showed, and Baez committed the foul, eliminating the shot clock and forcing the Trojans to commit the personal foul. Johnson went 1-of-2 at the line to give Troy a shot to tie the game with 10 seconds left. Following Troy's last timeout, Ngnawo missed the three, but Troy earned the deadball rebound. With 1.3 seconds remaining, Jenkins inbounded it to Baez, but she failed to get the shot off as Troy fell short in Hattiesburg.
Battle in the Burg
Leggett struck first as she scored Troy's first seven points. She started with her second 3-pointer of the season off the assist from Baez. Then, she grabbed the offensive rebound and finished the layup for a 5-0 lead. She polished it off with a fastbreak jumper, following Southern Miss' first bucket, 7-2, with 7:11 left in the opening quarter.
After USM trimmed the margin to one, 7-6, with 6:29 on the clock, Ngnawo got the dish from Baez and finished inside to open a 7-0 run. Jenkins hit from beyond the arc before Ngnawo scored again in the paint for a 14-6 lead with 4:52 left.
Southern Miss used the next eight minutes to lead the ballgame, 32-26, after a stepback jumper for Sakyia White. Both sides exchanged buckets over the next five minutes before Ngnawo went back-to-back via layups to tie the ballgame at 41 with 1:42 left.
The score would tie two more times in the first half at 43 and 46 after Ngnawo made another layup and Baez hit from deep. Southern Miss entered the break with a 49-46 lead, but Jenkins tied it once more in Troy's opening possession at 49 as Baez found her wide-open in the corner, 13 seconds into the second half.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're here in Hattiesburg and Southern Miss truly is one of the most talented teams in our conference. We just came up short. When you put up 95 points and don't win, you know you have some stuff to clean up. But we showed improvement in the fact that during the down moments, our team stayed positive. They battled through those times and that's why we were able to make the comeback. The dribble-drive is the place we need to work on, immediately reflecting on this game. I'm looking forward to watching the film and diving into this game. Because when you have a game like this, where you play a team at its best, you can teach a team the razor thin line between wins and losses."
Up Next
The Trojans return home as they welcome Texas State on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m.
Instant Classic Stats
• Fortuna Ngnawo returned to double-figures in the scoring column with 24 points for the 16th time in the last 17 games.
• For the fifth time in the last seven games, Fortuna Ngnawo secured a double-double on 24 points and 17 rebounds. Of her 17 rebounds, 11 came on the offensive end, marking the first Trojan since Zay Dyer on Jan. 25, 2025, to have double-digit offensive boards.
• Zay Dyer tied Donette McNair in career Division-I rebounds with 767.
• For the second time in 2025-26 (Missouri), two Trojans ended with 20-plus points via Emani Jenkins (22) and Fortuna Ngnawo (22).
• Zay Dyer extended her lead for the most double-doubles in the SBC with her seventh on 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• All five starters ended in double-figures for the scoring column, accounting for 85 of Troy's points.
• Despite the loss, Troy dominated the boards 53-39, with 26 coming on the offensive end.
• Emani Jenkins finished with six 3-pointers for 44 over the last 11 games for 4.4. She's scored 3-plus threes in nine games.
Team Stats
TROY
USM
FG%
.416
.507
3FG%
.343
.379
FT%
.643
.765
RB
53
39
TO
10
12
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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