by By Wes Johnson
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women’s basketball team claimed sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 78-66 win over Coastal Carolina in Trojan Arena on Saturday.
The win coupled with UT Arlington’s loss to Georgia State on Saturday gives Troy the inside track at the second seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and potentially a shot at the regular season league title.
In the third quarter, Troy (18-7, 11-3 SBC) pulled away in what had been a back-and-forth affair most of the afternoon despite only trailing for just 2:49 of the game. The Trojans stretched their five-point lead to eight on a ArJae’ Saunders 3-pointer just seconds into the second half. The advantage ballooned to 15 late in the fourth quarter as the Troy defense held Coastal Carolina to just 35 percent shooting in the final frame.
The Chanticleers (10-15, 5-10) pulled ahead by one, 26-25 with 4:58 left in the second quarter, but Ta’Kierra Gibbs provided a spark for the Trojans off the bench scoring on a layup and a free throw to give the home team the lead for good. Gibbs scored 10 points over the first 20 minutes.
Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole) turned in her second consecutive double-double with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jayla Chills followed up her 27-point career night on Thursday with 11 points and four boards against CCU. Dajia Williams also chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
QUOTABLE
“It was a little bit of an uncharacteristic game for us,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “We went into a zone defense right before the half and stayed in a half court zone defense the entire second half. It was a little uncharacteristic, but it was something we felt like we had to do.”
UP NEXT
Troy departs on its final road trip of the regular season next week as the team travels to face UT Arlington (Feb. 23) and Texas State (Feb. 25).
NOTABLE
• Caitlyn Ramirez has recorded 11 double-doubles this season and has scored 12-plus points in 10 consecutive games.
