by TROY, Alabama – The Troy women’s basketball team took an early lead and held on in a 78-67 win over rival South Alabama at Trojan Arena on Thursday night. The Trojans led by as many as 23 points, but the Jaguars closed on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit.
Troy (14-9, 9-5) got another near triple-double from Ashley Beverly-Kelley who scored 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Beverly-Kelley shot 7-of-13 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma) and Ronita Garrett each shot 5-of-9 from the floor as the pair went for 14 and 12 points, respectively. Kristen Emerson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds off the Troy bench and also had two blocks down the stretch.
Troy forced South Alabama into 31 turnovers, the fourth Trojan opponent to cough it up 30-plus times this season. Troy picked up 20 steals, with five different Trojans grabbing a game-high three.
“We forced 31 turnovers in the game, and that sounds like an up-tempo game, but it didn’t feel like it,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “It felt a little bit slower and we only got 70 shots off, so it was an odd game in that way. We are proud to get the win and to keep marching through in a quest to get a conference championship.”
Ten of the South Alabama (4-19, 1-13) turnovers came during a deciding run in the first half. With the score tied 12-12 with 14:12 to go in the half, Troy went on a 25-4 run over nearly 10 minutes, sparked by the 10 Jaguar miscues. The run put Troy up 37-16 with 5:37 to go before the break.
The Jaguars cut the lead to 11 with 9:40 to go in the game, but Troy went on a quick 12-0 run to pull back ahead 75-52 with 6:16 to go. However, from there, Troy managed to sink just three free throws as South Alabama closed on a 15-2 run.
South Alabama hit 10 3-pointers in the loss, including 5-of-9 from Breanna Hall who scored 18 points to lead the Jagars. Hall scored 13 of her points in the second half when South Alabama made 7-of-11 long-range shots.
Troy managed just 4-of-18 from long range, but dominated the paint where they outscored South Alabama, 42-22. Troy also won the points off turnovers battle, 37-13, and outscored South Alabama on the fast break, 22-4.
The win earned the Trojans a steak dinner from Troy director of athletics John Hartwell, who announced on Thursday via Twitter that he would provide steak dinners to any Troy teams that defeated in-state rival South Alabama.
Troy finished the game at 44 percent (31-of-70) while South Alabama finished at 40 percent (24-of-60), including 10-of-28 from deep. South Alabama outrebounded Troy, 45-35, and held the Trojans to just seven offensive rebounds. Troy entered the game averaging 17.5 offensive boards per game, the eighth best mark in the NCAA.
The Trojans return to the court on Saturday when they host UL Lafayette at Trojan Arena at 2 p.m. The game will mark the first of two Play 4Kay games for the Trojans who will wear pink uniforms.
