Women’s Basketball Pulls Ahead Late for Double-Digit Win Over Coastal Carolina

Friday, January 30

Conway, S.C.

1:30 p.m.

Troy University

18-4,9-2Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina

11-12,4-7Sun Belt

Troy

Coastal Carolina

Women’s Basketball Pulls Ahead Late for Double-Digit Win Over Coastal Carolina

1/30/2026 5:03:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

CONWAY, S.C. – With the score tied at 63 with 8:42 left in the game, Troy women's basketball outscored Coastal Carolina 25-14 in the remaining minutes to win 88-77 on Friday afternoon in the HTC Center.

Of the Trojans' (18-4, 9-2 SBC) 18 victories, 13 have come by double-digits as they defeat the Chanticleers (11-12, 4-7 SBC) for the fourth straight time and fifth consecutive time on the road.

Ashley Baez tied her career-high of 20 points on 4-of-7 from the field, 9-of-10 at the charity stripe and three 3-pointers. She also had a team-high four steals and four assists. Troy had a trio of players end with 10 or more rebounds as Rachel Leggett led the team with 13, followed by Fortuna Ngnawo and Zay Dyer with 10 apiece. Ngnawo and Dyer also claimed double-doubles with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Saniya Jackson was the fifth double-digit scorer for the Trojans, behind Emani Jenkins with 15 points. Jackson came off the bench with 10 points on two makes from behind the arc. Overall, the Trojans went 16-of-18 from the charity stripe for a season-high 88.9 percent.

Tessa Grady (25) and Kinsea Grimes (23) combined for 48 points on 10 threes and 16-of-23 shooting, but the rest of the team combined for just 29 points on 11-of-40 from the field in the loss. Kristen Williams entered the day with the highest 3-pointer percentage in the Sun Belt Conference, but shot 2-of-10 from deep against Troy.

Pull Ahead Late
Troy held its double-digit advantage through the final three minutes of the first half, but Coastal Carolina roared back to tie the game at 43 through the first four minutes of the second. The game remained within two possessions throughout the third and continued into the final quarter with three ties in the first 1:18 of the fourth.

An and-one by Ngnawo allowed Troy to take the 71-67 lead with 6:42 remaining before Coastal responded with a three. The Trojans followed with a driving layup for Leggett and a pair of free throws by Baez for a 75-70 lead at the 5:06 mark.

Grimes responded with a driving layup, and a turnover allowed the Chanticleers a chance to tie it, but Baylee Lowder missed her shot from deep. Leilani Guion found the ball and pump faked the three before pulling up for the easy bucket, 77-72, with 4:06 left. Guion's bucket started a 9-2 run for the Trojans over the next two minutes with points from Leggett (2), Dyer (3) and Baez (2) to push the lead to double-digits, 84-74.

Williams hit the stepback 3-pointer to end Troy's run, 84-77, with 1:06 left, but it'd be the last bucket for Coastal as the Trojans went 4-of-6 at the line in the final minute to secure the 88-77 win.

Slow Start… Strong Finish
Coastal Carolina kept Troy silent through the first four minutes of the game as it opened an 8-0 lead. Baez put Troy on the board with 6:14 on the clock. Neither side scored until Coastal made a pull-up jumper with 3:49 left, and Troy responded with a 5-0 burst in 15 seconds. Jenkins hit her first three of the game before Jackson stole the ball and scored to cut the deficit to two, 10-8, with 2:37 on the clock.

After a turnaround jumper for J'yana Salton brought the Chanticleers' lead to seven, 15-8, with 21 seconds left in the opening quarter, Jackson flipped the momentum to Troy on a 3-pointer with four seconds on the clock, 15-11.

Troy continued the momentum as it took a three-point lead, 18-15, in the first 70 seconds of the second. Ngnawo started and finished the 7-0 run to start the second, with Jenkins hitting the 3-pointer off a Coastal turnover.

Williams tied the game at 20 with 7:31 on the clock before Troy went on an 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead, 31-20, with 3:34 left in the first half. After four free throws from Ngnawo (2) and Dyer (2), Dyer continued with a layup off the assist by Jenkins. Leggett proceeded to steal and score with an and-one before Jenkins made a layup to end the run.

Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"The game was a lot closer than the box score showed. Whether it was our slow start, them coming back or us trading baskets basically the entire second half, it was a tough battle. I'm just thankful for the dog in our players. One of the biggest shoutouts I got is for Ashley, who guarded one of the best guards in our conference. She hit big shots, changed her game to open her shots up in the second half, played solid defense and helped keep everyone involved. It was a growth moment. And our bench came out and played great in a tight environment, and that's critical, especially when we get to March. Another shoutout to our staff. This game, with all the changes, did a great job adapting and getting our team ready on such short notice. They definitely deserve this weekend off."

Up Next
Troy briefly comes home to Trojan Arena to welcome App State on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m.

Road Win Stats
• Saniya Jackson came off the bench and had her first double-digit performance since Old Dominion on Dec. 17 and fifth of the season at 10.
• Troy's duo of Fortuna Ngnawo and Zay Dyer had double-doubles for their 12^th and 14^th, respectively.
• For the first time this season, Rachel Leggett led the Trojans in rebounds with 13. She also had nine points and two steals.
• Emani Jenkins hit four 3-pointers in the game for her 12^th game with three or more 3-pointers. She also moved to tie for the third-most threes in a single season at 67.
• With the win over Coastal Carolina, head coach Chanda Rigby is now two wins (273) from passing Joyce Sorrell (274) for the most wins by a Troy women's basketball coach.
• With her 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, Zay Dyer has 40 in her D-I career. She's one of 13 players in Division I with 40-plus double-doubles in a career.
• Troy's won four straight against Coastal Carolina, sitting at 14-4 in the all-time series.