by By Matt Mays, Troy Athletics
ROY, Alabama – The Troy women’s basketball team will make the second postseason appearance in program history when it opens the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) on Thursday. The Trojans will travel to take on Mercer on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
The winner of Troy, the No. 5 seed in the East Region, and Mercer, the No. 4 seed, will advance to the second round of the 16-team tournament where it will face the winner of No. 1 Northern Kentucky and No. 8 Marshall.
If Troy and Northern Kentucky both win, the Trojans would travel to Highland Heights, Ky. However, if Troy and Marshall were to both win, Troy would host the Herd at Trojan Arena on Saturday or Sunday.
Troy (20-10) posted its fourth 20-win season in the program’s 40-year history in 2014-15 and has turned that into just the second postseason appearance in program history. Troy’s 1996-97 team that lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament has the only other postseason appearance in program history.
Despite a loss in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships, the Trojans closed this season with wins in eight of their last nine games. For the third straight season under head coach Chanda Rigby the Trojans lead the league in scoring at 76.4 points per game, ranking 13th in the nation.
The Trojans also lead the league in rebounds (42.8 rpg), assists (14.3 apg) and steals (12.1 spg). Troy’s 12.1 steals per game and 22.6 opponent turnovers rank third and fourth in the NCAA, respectively.
Troy features two All-Sun Belt first team selections in junior Ashley Beverly-Kelley and senior Ronita Garrett. Beverly-Kelley, also a Mid-Major All-American, ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring at 17.7 points per game. Garrett has posted 21 double-doubles to lead the Sun Belt and rank eighth in the NCAA. She ranks fourth and first in the Sun Belt in scoring and rebounding, respectively, at 15.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), a JUCO transfer, began her first season with the Trojans where she averaged 6.5 points per game in 16 minutes of player per game. She was third on the team in steals and blocks this season.
Mercer (18-14) finished in third place in its first season in the Southern Conference. The Bears won six of their final eight regular season games, then beat Wofford in the SoCon Tournament quarterfinals before falling to East Tennessee State in the semifinals.
Troy is 10-14 all-time against Mercer, including losses in each of the last three seasons. The two sides met last season in Hawkins Arena with Mercer winning 86-81. Two years ago, in Rigby’s first home game at the helm of the Trojans, it was an even more high scoring game as Mercer won 96-90 in Trojan Arena.
For more information on Troy Athletics, and for a full bracket, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.
About the Women’s Basketball Invitational
The Women’s Basketball Invitational provides a choice for postseason worthy Division I women’s teams who wish to continue their season but who do not qualify for the NCAA tournament. The 16-team event will take place over two weeks with all games being played on campus sites.
