by by Matt Mays , Troy Trojans
NASHVILLE – The Troy women’s basketball team was locked into a high-scoring contest, but came out on the wrong end of a 102-93 loss to Belmont at the Curb Event Center on Sunday.
Both teams shot well, but Belmont shot 54 percent (34-of-63) overall and 50 percent (11-of-22) from deep. The Bruins also attempted nearly three times as many free throws as the Trojans.
Troy (2-2) came out hot, hitting six 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a nine-point lead. However, Belmont (5-1) responded with seven 3-pointers in the second quarter to take a four-point lead, 48-44, into halftime.
Amanda Mendoza scored 16 in the first half to lead Troy, including 4-of-4 from deep. She finished 5-of-6 from deep and scored 19 points with a game-high six assists.
Ashley Beverly Kelley scored in double figures for the 18th straight game and led Troy with 20 points. However, the Sun Belt’s leading scorer struggled from deep, going just 2-of-10. Troy’s starting post players,Amahni Upshaw and Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), combined to go 12-of-17 from the floor and scored 14 and 16 points, respectively.
The Bruins stayed hot in the second half and led by as many as 11 points early in the fourth quarter. Troy, however, cut the lead to five, 88-83, with 3:25 remaining. That is when Belmont’s Kylee Smith hit her fifth 3-pointer, a contested attempt from the corner. Beverly Kelley then missed an open 3-point look on what was that kind of night for the Trojans.
Belmont made two free throws to move the lead back to double digits with just 2:37 remaining and Troy never got closer than six points down the stretch.
Smith led five Belmont players in double figures with 24 points, including freshman point guard Darby Maggard who had 23 points, including 8-of-8 from the line. Belmont hit 23-of-28 from the free throw line while Troy was just 7-of-10, including zero attempts in the first half.
Troy finished the game shooting 48 percent (38-of-80) overall but hit just 10-of-32 (31 percent) 3-pointers, settling for a lot of open looks from beyond the arc, which contributed to the low free throw numbers.
The Bruins, who came in outrebounding teams by an average of 17 rebounds per game, outrebounded Troy just 40-36 on the night. Kristen Emerson led Troy with eight rebounds and also recorded three blocks. Sally McCabe led Belmont with 11 rebounds to go along with 16 points for the lone double-double of the game.
The Trojans have a quick turnaround as they return to the court on Tuesday when Nicholls visits Trojan Arena for a 5:15 p.m. contest.
