Women’s basketball wins first game of the season

Aniya Finger warms up at Trojan Arena ahead of season opener. Brady Fitch photo

The Troy women's basketball team kicked off its season hot with a great win against Kent State, 89-78, in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Across both conferences, teams square off and this match against Kent State can propel Troy to a higher bid in postseason due to the strength of the opponent.

"What a great way to start this brand-new season with this brand-new team,” said head coach Chanda Rigby. “We had so many question marks.

“We knew we were going for the win, but we also knew we were going to be patient with this team no matter the result.”

After a successful season last year that led to a postseason berth, Troy backloaded with a ton of young talent, most of which started this week. Throughout the first half, Kent State and Troy kept it close. Kent State relied heavily on its starters to keep the game within reach. Free throws also kept the Flashes in it, going 23-31 at the line.

Tiauna King is a name to highlight as off the bench through the game, she finished with 21 points. Five three-pointers helped push her over the 20-point threshold.

By halftime, Troy was up 47-41 but in the third quarter, Troy caught fire. King, with help from Hannah Smith, Aniya Hubbard and Saniya Jackson, lit up offensively. King, Smith and Hubbard are all first-year Trojans.

Within the third quarter, the Trojans outscored the Golden Flashes 26-15, which was four points off doubling their score.

At the end of the third quarter, Kent State went on a short 5-0 run to make the score 73-56, and in the fourth quarter, some Kent State free throws kept it close with the score being 80-71 in favor of Troy.

An and-one from Hubbard would turn the momentum towards Troy’s way, and with free throws from King and Edwards solidified the 11-point dub over Kent State.

“We had first-year players lead us in points, rebounds, steals and the plus/minus, which says a lot,” Rigby said. “Then, we had veterans come in and lead.

“We had three first-year players out there at almost all times, but they never wavered. Instead, they shined. It's nice to have a team that goes out there, executes the game plan, and that gets you wins."

The next game for the Trojans will be in Trojan Arena on Thursday against Thomas. That contest will be at 6 p.m. on ESPN Plus.