by LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – The Troy women’s basketball team dominated the first half, then withstood a second-half surge from UL Lafayette in a 60-55 win on Saturday night at the Cajundome.
Troy (6-5, 1-1) held the Ragin’ Cajuns to 24 percent shooting in the first half and took a 33-22 lead into the break. The Trojans expanded the lead to as many as 19 points, 46-27, with 13:22 to go, but went cold from there.
Troy made just one field goal over the next 10 minutes and UL Lafayette (8-3, 0-2) pulled even at 52-52 with 3:06 to go. The score stayed at 52-52 until the final minute when Rachel Reid came up big for Troy.
The junior hit a 3-pointer with 43 seconds to go, but the Cajuns responded with a trey just 12 seconds later. Reid responded with a second straight 3-pointer on the next possession and it was the difference as Troy went on to win, 60-55.
Aissata Maiga posted 14 points to lead the Trojans, including the first 3-pointer of her Troy career. She was a big part of Troy building the 19-point lead as all of her points came in the first 23 minutes of the game. She fouled out with 3:33 to go.
Troy sat back in a zone defense for the entire 40 minutes, and that was a big part of the Trojans holding the Cajuns to 55 points, the fewest allowed by a Troy team in a Sun Belt game since a 78-53 win over South Alabama last February.
“Any win on the road is a big deal,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “Our players showed a lot of maturity in executing a game plan that was outside of what we normally do, so I’m proud of them for getting the win.
Troy’s zone defense led to a slow pace, but held the Cajuns to 29 percent (18-of-62) shooting, including 5-of-26 from long range. Troy, on the other hand, hit 42 percent (22-of-52) overall and 4-of-10 from deep.
The Trojans made an effort to work the paint offensively, and it paid off with a 32-20 advantage in the paint. The Trojans scored their first 18 points in the paint as they built the big lead early.
Troy outrebounded UL Lafayette, 43-41, including 10 rebounds from Ronita Garrett who finished with six points and missed out on her eighth double-double of the season. Reid, Ashley Beverly-Kelley and Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma) all posted nine points for the Trojans.
The Trojans forced just 15 turnovers, the second lowest total of the season, and committed 21 themselves, including 14 in the second half. The Cajuns began to press Troy in the second half, and that helped them get back into it.
Robbie Brown scored 16 points to lead all scorers for UL Lafayette, with 14 coming in the second half as she sparked the Ragin’ Cajuns run. In the 10-minute span that Troy made just one field goal, UL Lafayette went on a 25-6 run.
The Trojans have a quick turnaround as they travel back to Troy to take on UT Arlington on Monday at 5:15 p.m.
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