Troy University Athletics
Sunday, March 8
Pensacola, Fla.
2 p.m.
Troy University
25-6,15-3Sun Belt
83
vs
73
Arkansas State
24-9,14-4Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Arkansas St.
25
7
21
20
73
Troy
23
20
21
19
83
No. 2 Troy Punches Ticket to Sun Belt Championship with Revenge Win Over No. 3 Arkansas State; Dyer Records 1,000th Career Rebound, Breaks Single-Season Record
3/8/2026 6:47:00 PM | Basketball (W)
PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 2 Troy women's basketball punched its ticket to the Sun Belt championship game on Sunday afternoon in the Pensacola Bay Center with an 83-73 victory over No. 3 Arkansas State.
Troy (25-6, 15-3 SBC) will now play on Monday, March 9, at 1 p.m., against No. 4 James Madison, which routed Georgia Southern in its semifinal game. The Trojans swept the Red Wolves (24-9, 14-4 SBC) in their three meetings for 2025-26 and avenged their 2024-25 semifinal exit at the hands of the opposition.
Troy has a chance to win its fourth SBC championship tomorrow afternoon and the fifth-ever in program history. The Trojans last won the title in 2021 and sit 3-1 in SBC title games. The last championship appearance was in 2021-22 against UT-Arlington, where Troy fell short 76-61.
Zay Dyer finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for her 23rd double-double of the season and 15th straight. On her sixth rebound, Dyer joined the 1,000-rebound club at Troy, becoming the first player in Division-I history and fourth all-time to join the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. Before that, on her second rebound, she broke her own single-season rebound record with her 396th rebound.
Outside Dyer's 24-point, 10-rebound double-double, the Trojans shot 45.6 percent from the floor and dominated the rebound battle 45-32. They also had 20 offensive boards for 23 second-chance points. Ngnawo neared a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, followed by Ashley Baez with 14 and Rachel Leggett with 12. Kamesha Moore came off the bench and had nine points and a team-high four steals.
The Red Wolves made 12 3-pointers in the loss as D'Arrah Allen led the team with 18 points on five threes. Payton Fields and Bella Weary also finished in double figures for scoring with 18 and 14, respectively. Arkansas State entered the day as the leading team in the nation for forced turnovers, but only tied Troy in the turnover battle at 20.
Championship Bound
Arkansas State led through most of the first quarter before Dyer scored five straight with a three and a pair at the line to take Troy's first lead, 18-17, with 3:10 left. Leggett followed as Emani Jenkins grabbed the defensive rebound and found Baez in transition. Baez made the extra pass to Leggett, who finished inside, 20-17.
The Red Wolves fired back to reclaim the lead into the second quarter and held it until 7:16 showed with a 3-pointer from Aniyah Ruddock, 28-27. Ngnawo responded with a 3-pointer for Troy to spark a 9-0 run that ended with a Leggett tip-in with 3:40 remaining in the half for a 36-28 lead.
After a free throw for Arkansas State, Ngnawo and Leggett earned and-ones for Troy's first double-digit lead, 40-29, with 2:24 left.
The game steadied until 7:26 left in the third quarter, when Baez made her first 3-pointer, 51-36. Moore followed with a jumper before finding Ngnawo for the deep two for the Trojans' largest lead of the game (19), 55-36.
A 12-0 run from Arkansas State followed to cut the margin to seven, 55-48, with 3:56 on the clock. But, after a turnover for the Red Wolves out of the timeout, Dyer found Ngnawo for the bucket to return momentum to the Trojans. On the next possession, Arkansas State committed another turnover, allowing Dyer to find Baez inside for the layup and return the lead to double-digits, 59-48 – 2:16 left in the third.
Both sides exchanged buckets over the next four minutes for an eight-point game, 68-60, with 8:26 left after Arkansas State scored five straight. But Troy sent the dagger over the next three minutes with a 10-0 run, 78-60. The run started with an and-one for Leggett and ended on an and-one by Dyer.
Troy weathered the storm from there, coasting its way into the title game with an 83-73 victory, sweeping Arkansas State.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're so thankful to be a winner today. I've been a winner and a loser in these moments and it just feels so good to be on the winning end. This team was so prepared, and these young women have grown in so many ways. The way they handled adversity tonight was something that teams in years past couldn't have done it. These young women couldn't have done it. But this year, with their growth, they got it done. The only way to represent Troy is with a championship and we will settle for nothing less than that. We're honored to represent the university in the championship tomorrow. We've been there before, and we know what it takes. But we aren't taking anything for granted and sure aren't entitled. We just need to rise to the occasion."
Up Next
Troy punched its ticket to the fifth SBC Tournament championship game in program history, looking for its fourth tournament title against No. 4 James Madison. The game tips off at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
Semifinal Stats
• Zay Dyer broke her own single-season rebound record with her second of the game, reaching 396 rebounds this season.
• With her sixth rebound of the game, Zay Dyer became the fourth player (first in D-I history) to join the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound club in Troy history.
• Troy improved to 3-0 over Arkansas State with the win and 3-3 over the opposition in the SBC Tournament (2-1 in the semifinal round).
• Troy advanced to its fifth-ever conference championship game with the win and fourth SBC title game. The Trojans are going for their fourth SBC championship and first since 2021.
• With the win, Troy tied program history with its 25th win of the season – the most since 2019-20.
• Dyer passed Kayla Robinson for eighth in Division-I career points at 1,189 and Angela Moore for career rebounds with 1,004.
• Kamesha Moore set a career-high with four steals, while adding nine points off the bench.
Troy (25-6, 15-3 SBC) will now play on Monday, March 9, at 1 p.m., against No. 4 James Madison, which routed Georgia Southern in its semifinal game. The Trojans swept the Red Wolves (24-9, 14-4 SBC) in their three meetings for 2025-26 and avenged their 2024-25 semifinal exit at the hands of the opposition.
Troy has a chance to win its fourth SBC championship tomorrow afternoon and the fifth-ever in program history. The Trojans last won the title in 2021 and sit 3-1 in SBC title games. The last championship appearance was in 2021-22 against UT-Arlington, where Troy fell short 76-61.
Zay Dyer finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for her 23rd double-double of the season and 15th straight. On her sixth rebound, Dyer joined the 1,000-rebound club at Troy, becoming the first player in Division-I history and fourth all-time to join the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. Before that, on her second rebound, she broke her own single-season rebound record with her 396th rebound.
Outside Dyer's 24-point, 10-rebound double-double, the Trojans shot 45.6 percent from the floor and dominated the rebound battle 45-32. They also had 20 offensive boards for 23 second-chance points. Ngnawo neared a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, followed by Ashley Baez with 14 and Rachel Leggett with 12. Kamesha Moore came off the bench and had nine points and a team-high four steals.
The Red Wolves made 12 3-pointers in the loss as D'Arrah Allen led the team with 18 points on five threes. Payton Fields and Bella Weary also finished in double figures for scoring with 18 and 14, respectively. Arkansas State entered the day as the leading team in the nation for forced turnovers, but only tied Troy in the turnover battle at 20.
Championship Bound
Arkansas State led through most of the first quarter before Dyer scored five straight with a three and a pair at the line to take Troy's first lead, 18-17, with 3:10 left. Leggett followed as Emani Jenkins grabbed the defensive rebound and found Baez in transition. Baez made the extra pass to Leggett, who finished inside, 20-17.
The Red Wolves fired back to reclaim the lead into the second quarter and held it until 7:16 showed with a 3-pointer from Aniyah Ruddock, 28-27. Ngnawo responded with a 3-pointer for Troy to spark a 9-0 run that ended with a Leggett tip-in with 3:40 remaining in the half for a 36-28 lead.
After a free throw for Arkansas State, Ngnawo and Leggett earned and-ones for Troy's first double-digit lead, 40-29, with 2:24 left.
The game steadied until 7:26 left in the third quarter, when Baez made her first 3-pointer, 51-36. Moore followed with a jumper before finding Ngnawo for the deep two for the Trojans' largest lead of the game (19), 55-36.
A 12-0 run from Arkansas State followed to cut the margin to seven, 55-48, with 3:56 on the clock. But, after a turnover for the Red Wolves out of the timeout, Dyer found Ngnawo for the bucket to return momentum to the Trojans. On the next possession, Arkansas State committed another turnover, allowing Dyer to find Baez inside for the layup and return the lead to double-digits, 59-48 – 2:16 left in the third.
Both sides exchanged buckets over the next four minutes for an eight-point game, 68-60, with 8:26 left after Arkansas State scored five straight. But Troy sent the dagger over the next three minutes with a 10-0 run, 78-60. The run started with an and-one for Leggett and ended on an and-one by Dyer.
Troy weathered the storm from there, coasting its way into the title game with an 83-73 victory, sweeping Arkansas State.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
"We're so thankful to be a winner today. I've been a winner and a loser in these moments and it just feels so good to be on the winning end. This team was so prepared, and these young women have grown in so many ways. The way they handled adversity tonight was something that teams in years past couldn't have done it. These young women couldn't have done it. But this year, with their growth, they got it done. The only way to represent Troy is with a championship and we will settle for nothing less than that. We're honored to represent the university in the championship tomorrow. We've been there before, and we know what it takes. But we aren't taking anything for granted and sure aren't entitled. We just need to rise to the occasion."
Up Next
Troy punched its ticket to the fifth SBC Tournament championship game in program history, looking for its fourth tournament title against No. 4 James Madison. The game tips off at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
Semifinal Stats
• Zay Dyer broke her own single-season rebound record with her second of the game, reaching 396 rebounds this season.
• With her sixth rebound of the game, Zay Dyer became the fourth player (first in D-I history) to join the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound club in Troy history.
• Troy improved to 3-0 over Arkansas State with the win and 3-3 over the opposition in the SBC Tournament (2-1 in the semifinal round).
• Troy advanced to its fifth-ever conference championship game with the win and fourth SBC title game. The Trojans are going for their fourth SBC championship and first since 2021.
• With the win, Troy tied program history with its 25th win of the season – the most since 2019-20.
• Dyer passed Kayla Robinson for eighth in Division-I career points at 1,189 and Angela Moore for career rebounds with 1,004.
• Kamesha Moore set a career-high with four steals, while adding nine points off the bench.
Team Stats
ASU
TROY
FG%
.403
.456
3FG%
.387
.333
FT%
.786
.727
RB
32
45
TO
20
20
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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Sun Belt Tournment Semifinal Postgame Press Conference (Chanda Rigby, Zay Dyer, Fortuna Ngnawo) - Arkansas State
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