The Troy women’s basketball team finishes their first road trip of the season with two losses against undefeated teams and one against the weather.
The Trojans faced off against Montana State, where they fell 73-63 before traveling immediately to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to battle No. 24 Alabama, where the Trojans lost 94-71.
In between the matchups, the Trojans faced a snowstorm in Montana that delayed their flight back to Alabama, giving the Trojans less time than anticipated before the Alabama matchup.
A silver lining for the Trojans was rebounding, as the Trojans outrebounded both opponents during the trip. Troy outrebounded Montana State 48-39 and Alabama 51-48.
“We’re at the end of a very long road trip,” said head coach Chanda Rigby in an interview with Troy Athletics. “We’ve been together for over a week and have faced a lot of adversity to start the season regarding the teams we’ve played and the weather.
“Overall, I’m proud of the lessons we’ve learned.”
The Bozeman, Montana, trip was capped by impressive performances from three newcomers to the Trojans as Fortuna Ngnawo finished with her second double-double in as many Division I games.
The Cameroon native dropped 15 points while adding 11 rebounds to lead Troy against the Bobcats. Behind her came Brianna Jackson, who added 14 points of her own off 7-for-9 shooting.
On the guard front it was Ashley Beaz who led the way, scoring 12 points to follow up her 14 points in the season opener versus Buffalo.
The story of the game versus Montana State was turnovers, as the Bobcats forced 22 Trojan turnovers, scoring 22 points off them. The Trojans led in the paint, outscoring the Bobcats 46-24, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the turnover struggles.
Troy kept it close after the first 10 minutes, only trailing by one going into the second quarter. The second quarter saw plenty of back-and-forth action before the Bobcats ended the quarter on a 10-1 run to take a 39-31 lead into halftime.
The Trojans couldn’t do much in the second half as the closest they got was within five points midway through the third quarter. The Bobcats biggest margin in the half was as high as 11 points.
For the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, trip, it was Baez that once again shined as she finished the game with her second 14-point outing this season. She also went 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
“I was really confident in myself and coming in and playing hard,” Baez said. “I was just really focused on making my shots.”
Junior college transfer Emani Jenkins made her presence known, as well, when she contributed 11 points off the bench for a career-high while adding three of her own 3-pointers.
Leilani Guion and Ngnawo also poured in nine points each to follow Baez and Jenkins.
The Trojans struck first against the Crimson Tide with a Zay Dyer layup before a 16-2 Alabama run. Troy clawed back though, getting as close as six before Alabama took a 25-17 lead at the first quarter break.
In the second quarter, the Trojans kept the lead to about 10 points before a 10-2 Alabama run in the last four minutes made it a 17-point game heading into halftime.
Troy came out firing on all cylinders in the second half as they outscored the Crimson Tide 19-18 in the third quarter while shooting 66%from three-point land.
The Tide kept their foot on the gas for the fourth quarter, outscoring the Trojans 26-19 to finish the game with a final score of 94-71.
It wasn’t all bad for Troy, as the Trojans bench outscored Alabama’s bench 32-16. The Trojans also held the Crimson Tide to their lowest three-point shooting game of the season at 31%. Alabama is the 13th best 3-point shooting team in the nation.
“Every game is going to make us better,” Rigby said. “We want to compete so hard that, at the worst, we come out a better team, more cohesive and playing at another level, and, at the best, we come out winning.”
The Trojans get a little time to rest at home before this week, which sees them travel to play UT-Chatanooga on Nov. 14 before heading to Baton Rouge to play against No. seven LSU on Nov. 18.
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