Troy University Athletics
Monday, November 2
Kent, Ohio
6 p.m.
Troy University
1-0,0-0Sun Belt
89
at
78
Kent State
0-1,0-0MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | 26 | 21 | 26 | 16 | 89 |
| Kent St. | 21 | 20 | 15 | 22 | 78 |
11/2/2026 10:14:00 PM | Basketball (W)
KENT, Ohio – Powered by a 16-0 third-quarter run, the Troy women's basketball team opened the season with an 89-78 win over Kent State on Monday night at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
The Trojans start the season 1-0, improving to 2-1 all-time against the Golden Flashes (0-1) and 3-4 in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Troy's first-year players led the team with 45 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals.
Among the first-year players, Tiauna King shined off the bench with five 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 21 points. She also added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Hannah Smith finished her collegiate debut with 12 points, four assists, a team-high seven rebounds, two steals and a block. After a two-year hiatus, Aniya Hubbard returned to the court with Troy's first points of the season. The FAU transfer finished with 17 points and a team-high three blocks. As a unit, the Trojans dominated the fast break, outscoring the Golden Flashes 24-10. They also connected on 11 3-pointers from six different players to improve head coach Chanda Rigby's record with double-digit threes to 52-8.
Kent State's starters combined for 62 of its 78 points, with Riley Rismiller leading the way with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Golden Flashes used the free-throw line to keep pace with the Trojans, going 23-of-31 from the stripe. The third quarter saw Kent State shoot 27.8 percent from the floor and 1-of-7 from deep, while Troy went 58.8 and 60 percent, respectively.
Second Half Takeover
Troy entered the second half up 47-41. The Trojans outscored the Golden Flashes 26-15 in the third, shooting 10-of-17 from the floor while holding the opposition to 5-of-18. Troy also outrebounded Kent State 13-7.
The takeover took nearly four minutes to start as both sides exchanged buckets to keep it a one-possession game, 52-49, before Rigby called a timeout with 6:31 left.
Out of the timeout, Smith collected the offensive rebound and converted the and-one, 55-49, to open a 16-0 run that lasted until 1:14 remained in the third to lead 68-49. During the run, Smith (five), Saniya Jackson (three), Maliyah Meeks (two), Hubbard (two), Jamonica Chambers (two) and King (two) converted a bucket.
A pair of free throws from Kent State paused the run before King's fifth 3-pointer of the game and two free throws by Jackson gave Troy its largest lead of the game (22), 73-51, with 32 seconds on the clock.
Kent State stopped the bleeding with a 5-0 run to end the third quarter and cut the margin to 17, 73-56. They continued their comeback with a free-throw battle, going 9-of-12 in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter – Kent State shot 3-of-10 from the floor in that span. An and-one by Dania McClain cut the margin to single digits, 80-71, with 3:23 remaining.
Hubbard flipped the momentum back to Troy with a dagger and-one with 3:12 on the clock. She received the pass inside from King, and she battled through the contact to push the lead back to double figures, 83-71. A Kent State miss and Smith rebound led to a pair at the line for Shakirah Edwards 30 seconds later for an 85-71 advantage.
Troy went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe via King and Edwards to put the finishing touches on an 11-point win, 89-78, over Kent State to improve to 3-1 in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"What a great way to start this brand new season with this brand-new team. We had so many question marks. We knew we were going for the win, but we also knew we were going to be patient with this team no matter the result. We had a team out there that did really smart things. When things were tight, this young team showed resilience and a willingness to just do what the coaches were telling them. We had first-year players lead us in points, rebounds, steals and the plus/minus, which says a lot. And then we had veterans come in and lead. We had three first-year players out there at almost all times. But they never wavered. Instead, they shined. It's nice to have a team that goes out there, executes the gameplan and that get gets you wins."
Up Next
The Trojans have their home opener in Trojan Arena on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. against Thomas.
Notables
• Aniya Hubbard quickly got her first points as a Trojan and her first since 2023, scoring a layup on the first possession in her first career start.
• With the win, the Trojans improve to 3-4 in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
• Tiauna King erupted in the first half, finishing with four 3-pointers for a game-high 14 points. She finished with 21 points on five 3-pointers.
• All five Trojans in the starting lineup made their first career start for Troy: Maliyah Meeks, Taliah Martin, Aniya Hubbard, Hannah Smith, Shakirah Edwards.
• First-year players led Troy in points (Tiauna King – 21), rebounds (Hannah Smith – seven), steals (Smith – three), and the plus/minus (Jamonica Chambers – plus-13).
• Troy's first-year players combined for 45 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals.
• Troy connected on 11-of-28 3-pointers to improve Chanda Rigby's record with double-digit three to 52-8.
The Trojans start the season 1-0, improving to 2-1 all-time against the Golden Flashes (0-1) and 3-4 in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Troy's first-year players led the team with 45 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals.
Among the first-year players, Tiauna King shined off the bench with five 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 21 points. She also added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Hannah Smith finished her collegiate debut with 12 points, four assists, a team-high seven rebounds, two steals and a block. After a two-year hiatus, Aniya Hubbard returned to the court with Troy's first points of the season. The FAU transfer finished with 17 points and a team-high three blocks. As a unit, the Trojans dominated the fast break, outscoring the Golden Flashes 24-10. They also connected on 11 3-pointers from six different players to improve head coach Chanda Rigby's record with double-digit threes to 52-8.
Kent State's starters combined for 62 of its 78 points, with Riley Rismiller leading the way with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Golden Flashes used the free-throw line to keep pace with the Trojans, going 23-of-31 from the stripe. The third quarter saw Kent State shoot 27.8 percent from the floor and 1-of-7 from deep, while Troy went 58.8 and 60 percent, respectively.
Second Half Takeover
Troy entered the second half up 47-41. The Trojans outscored the Golden Flashes 26-15 in the third, shooting 10-of-17 from the floor while holding the opposition to 5-of-18. Troy also outrebounded Kent State 13-7.
The takeover took nearly four minutes to start as both sides exchanged buckets to keep it a one-possession game, 52-49, before Rigby called a timeout with 6:31 left.
Out of the timeout, Smith collected the offensive rebound and converted the and-one, 55-49, to open a 16-0 run that lasted until 1:14 remained in the third to lead 68-49. During the run, Smith (five), Saniya Jackson (three), Maliyah Meeks (two), Hubbard (two), Jamonica Chambers (two) and King (two) converted a bucket.
A pair of free throws from Kent State paused the run before King's fifth 3-pointer of the game and two free throws by Jackson gave Troy its largest lead of the game (22), 73-51, with 32 seconds on the clock.
Kent State stopped the bleeding with a 5-0 run to end the third quarter and cut the margin to 17, 73-56. They continued their comeback with a free-throw battle, going 9-of-12 in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter – Kent State shot 3-of-10 from the floor in that span. An and-one by Dania McClain cut the margin to single digits, 80-71, with 3:23 remaining.
Hubbard flipped the momentum back to Troy with a dagger and-one with 3:12 on the clock. She received the pass inside from King, and she battled through the contact to push the lead back to double figures, 83-71. A Kent State miss and Smith rebound led to a pair at the line for Shakirah Edwards 30 seconds later for an 85-71 advantage.
Troy went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe via King and Edwards to put the finishing touches on an 11-point win, 89-78, over Kent State to improve to 3-1 in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"What a great way to start this brand new season with this brand-new team. We had so many question marks. We knew we were going for the win, but we also knew we were going to be patient with this team no matter the result. We had a team out there that did really smart things. When things were tight, this young team showed resilience and a willingness to just do what the coaches were telling them. We had first-year players lead us in points, rebounds, steals and the plus/minus, which says a lot. And then we had veterans come in and lead. We had three first-year players out there at almost all times. But they never wavered. Instead, they shined. It's nice to have a team that goes out there, executes the gameplan and that get gets you wins."
Up Next
The Trojans have their home opener in Trojan Arena on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. against Thomas.
Notables
• Aniya Hubbard quickly got her first points as a Trojan and her first since 2023, scoring a layup on the first possession in her first career start.
• With the win, the Trojans improve to 3-4 in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
• Tiauna King erupted in the first half, finishing with four 3-pointers for a game-high 14 points. She finished with 21 points on five 3-pointers.
• All five Trojans in the starting lineup made their first career start for Troy: Maliyah Meeks, Taliah Martin, Aniya Hubbard, Hannah Smith, Shakirah Edwards.
• First-year players led Troy in points (Tiauna King – 21), rebounds (Hannah Smith – seven), steals (Smith – three), and the plus/minus (Jamonica Chambers – plus-13).
• Troy's first-year players combined for 45 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals.
• Troy connected on 11-of-28 3-pointers to improve Chanda Rigby's record with double-digit three to 52-8.
Players Mentioned
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/ Basketball (W)Team Stats
TROY
KentSt
FG%
.457
.368
3FG%
.393
.208
FT%
.778
.742
RB
45
39
TO
18
13
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
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