Troy University Athletics
Troy University
19-5,10-2Sun Belt
Ball State
19-5,10-1MAC
Women’s Basketball Falls in Heartbreaker to Ball State; Leggett Scores 1,000th Career Point; Jenkins Breaks Single-Season 3-Point Record
2/7/2026 3:12:00 PM | Basketball (W)
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State hit the game-winner with six seconds on the clock to defeat Troy women's basketball in heartbreaking fashion, 87-86, on Saturday afternoon in the Worthen Arena. Rachel Leggett scored her 1,000th career point, and Emani Jenkins set the single-season 3-pointer record with her 74th make in the loss.
Despite the loss to fall to 2-4 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, the Trojans (19-5) shot 40 percent from deep with 12 made threes and outrebounded the Cardinals (19-5) 49-41.
All five of Troy's starters ended with double-digit points, led by Fortuna Ngnawo with 16. Zay Dyer followed with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her league-best 16th double-double, while Leggett had her second double-double as a Trojan on 10 points and 11 rebounds in her quest to 1,000 career points. Ashley Baez (10) and Jenkins (14) also ended with 10-plus points as Jenkins hit four 3-pointers to claim the single-season record on her 74th three.
Tessa Towers led Ball State with 19 points and nine rebounds in the victory, followed by Grace Kingery and Bree Salenbien with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Zhen Verburgt, who hit the game-winner for Ball State, ended with seven points. The Cardinals shot 47.8 percent from the field and hit their lone 3-pointer of the fourth as the game-winner, ending with eight total from beyond the arc.
Heartbreak
Ball State outscored Troy 15-9 in the final four minutes of the first half to start the second with a 44-40 lead. Leggett put Troy on the board first with a 3-pointer 16 seconds in to join the 1,000-point club. Both sides exchanged blows before the Cardinals opened an eight-point lead, 57-49, with 6:52 left in the third.
Troy chipped away at the margin over the next four minutes, starting with a steal by Leggett that ended with a Dyer layup and followed with a Jenkins three, 57-54 – 5:51 remaining in the third. Then, after both sides went back-and-forth, Baez got the extra pass from Dyer and hit Troy's fourth 3-pointer of the third, 63-61, with 3:16 on the clock.
The Trojans followed a 3-pointer by Ball State, 66-61, with a 7-0 run to end the third quarter with points from Leilani Guion (2), Saniya Jackson (1) and Dyer (4). Troy's 3-point success continued into the fourth when Jackson hit her second 3-pointer of the game and Jenkins hit her 74th three of the season to claim the single-season record and give Troy the 74-66 lead with 9:02 left.
Towers ended Troy's 13-0 run with a jumper before Ngnawo and Baez combined with driving layups to give Troy the double-digit lead, 78-68.
A 6-0 burst by Ball State brought the margin to four, 78-74, before Troy matched with a 7-0 run, starting with a Dyer 3-pointer with 6:05 on the clock, 81-74, and ending with a Jackson jumper in the paint, 85-74, 1:37 later.
With 4:17 on the clock, Ball State marched back with a 10-1 run over the next four minutes, making it a one-possession game with 54 seconds left with a layup – Ngnawo hit one free throw with three minutes remaining, which would be Troy's final point.
Troy got its shot blocked with 33 seconds left, but Dyer grabbed the offensive rebound. The Trojans missed their second-chance attempt, and the ball tipped off Jenkins to give Ball State possession with 21 seconds on the clock.
As the clock ticked down to single-digits, Salenbien found Verburgt open on the wing, and she hit from deep to give Ball State the 87-86 lead with six seconds left. Head coach Chanda Rigby called the timeout to draw up the final play, and Leggett inbounded the ball to Ngnawo, who missed the shot. Baez was able to grab the offensive rebound, but by the time she could shoot, the time expired.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
We played a very high level of competition today. The team we faced is very good and well-coached. Our team played them toe-to-toe the entire time. We got big leads, but we have to get better down the stretch. I felt like I could have, of course, put our team in a position to win, but we just didn't get it done. I'm going to choose to stay positive because that's all I can do right now. There is a lot to be proud of, especially with Rachel and Emani etching their names in Troy history. Now, we get to go home and get in games that actually count towards our quest for a title.
Up Next
The Trojans return to Trojan Arena on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. to open their first of four straight home games against Louisiana.
MAC-SBC Challenge Stats
• Rachel Leggett joined the 1,000-point club with a 3-pointer to open the second half against Ball State, joining Zay Dyer as the only active Trojans with 1,000-plus points in their D-I careers.
• Emani Jenkins made Troy single season history with her 74th 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. This season, Jenkins has converted a three in all but one game with multiple in 17, 3-plus in 14 and 5-plus in three.
• All five of Troy's starters ended in double-figures for scoring for the second time this season.
• Zay Dyer claimed her eighth straight double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds, improving her league-lead to 16.
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Rachel Leggett had her second double-double as a Trojan with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She's scored 10-plus points in 13 of her last 16 games.
• Despite the loss, Troy shot 40 percent from deep with 12 3-pointers.
• In a matchup that featured the No. 1 (Troy) and No. 7 (Ball State) teams in the country for rebounding, the Trojans won the rebound battle 49-41.
