Troy women's Basketball earned its first win of the season with a 10-point victory over UT-Chattanooga after a 24-point, 12 rebound double-double from forward Zay Dyer.
The first win of the season came on the first half of a two-game road trip, with the Trojans dropping game two of the trip to No. 7 LSU in Baton Rouge.
Behind Dyer in the Chattanooga game was a familiar name as guard Ashley Baez continues her streak of scoring double digits in each game this season, finishing with another 12 points.
Right behind Baez was fellow guard Shaulana Wagner who finished with 11 points while dishing out five assists.
The story of the game was the offensive explosion in the first quarter when the Trojans jumped out to a 21-3 lead off a 17-0 run through the quarter.
“To see the that 17-0 run in the first, it was exciting to see it all come together,” said head coach Chanda Rigby in an interview with Troy Athletics. “Any questions about whether we had full buy-in were answered there in the beginning.”
The Mocs tried their best to come back from the deficit, getting as close as four points early in the fourth quarter. The Trojans put together a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach for UT-Chattanooga.
The Trojans finished quarter one up big, leading 24-10. The Mocs didn’t give up though, as the Trojans only held an 11-point lead going into the half.
Troy came out slower than usual in the third quarter as the Mocs kept cutting into the lead, with the Trojans only leading by seven going into the fourth.
Troy kept its foot on the pedal though as they extended the lead to 10 by the end of the game, winning 76-66 to secure their first win of the season.
The Trojans also traveled to No. 7 LSU Monday evening, falling 98-59.
Two familiar faces were on the top of the stat sheet for the Trojans, as Ashley Baez recorded her fifth straight double-digit performance and second against ranked competition this season, finishing once again with 12 points to lead the Trojans.
Behind Baez came Fortuna Ngnawo, who contributed 10 points with six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans started out strong, taking an early 5-2 lead before LSU put their famous press into effect, sparking a 17-0 run before a Briana Peguero three stopped the scoring drought.
LSU showed just why they’re the seventh team in the nation, only allowing 10 Trojan points in the second quarter while scoring 23 of their own to lead 58-24 going into halftime.
Out of the half, Troy kept up with LSU, scoring 20 points to the Tigers 22 points in the third quarter. A silver lining for the Trojans was forcing 21 turnovers, a season high for the Tigers.
That isn’t the end of the traveling for the Trojans, as they next head to Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout, where they face Alaska-Anchorage in the first game of the multiple event tournament on Nov. 22.
Depending on the result of that game, the Trojans will face Vermont or North Dakota State on Nov. 23 for game two of the event.
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