Wednesday, Dec. 3
Ramirez Leads Troy to Quality Win over Samford
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball team got a stellar performance from Caitlyn Ramirez and used it to beat a quality Samford team, 76-67, on Wednesday night at Trojan Arena.
Troy (3-3), who has struggled from the field early this season, shot 53 percent (16-of-30) in the first half and built a 12-point halftime lead. Samford (4-3), coming off of a win over defending Big 10 champion Penn State, cut into that lead in the second half, but Troy was able to hold on.
Ramirez came off the bench and scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from floor, but really made her mark defensively on Samford's Taylor Reece. The 6-foot-3 Reece entered averaging 15.7 points per game to lead the Bulldogs. Ramirez was big in holding Reece to 4-of-10 shooting, no 3-pointers, and three turnovers.
Ashley Beverly-Kelley also came off the bench and scored 17 points for the Trojans, including two of the Trojans' season-high 10 3-pointers. Ramirez and Kourtney Coleman each went 3-of-5 from long range as the Trojans also neutralized the Bulldogs' 3-point threat. Coleman finished with a season-high 16 points to round out the trio of Trojans in double figures.
"We beat a great team today," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby. "(Troy assistant) Coach (Courtney) Simmons had a great scouting report, the girls really bought into it and for the first time this season they came together as one to execute a gameplan. I was very proud of that."
Samford entered making twice as many 3-pointers per game as Troy, but hit just six while Troy made 10 in the contest. Hannah Nichols made four of those six and scored a season-high 14 points. Reece scored 12 and Krista Stricklin scored a team-high 15 points.
Four of Samford's treys came in the second half as the Bulldogs chipped away at the Troy lead. Samford started the half with a 9-0 run to get within three, but Troy answered with nine straight itself to regain the 12-point advantage with 14:43 to go.
The Bulldogs still didn't go away, eventually cutting the lead down to two points, 59-57, with 5:27 to go. However, 3-pointers from Ronita Garrett and Ramirez sealed the game and put Troy up 68-58 with 2:59 to go.
Kristen Emerson, who posted a game-high 11 rebounds, erased any hope for Samford with a pair of blocks on the Bulldogs' final possession and two free throws with three seconds on the clock.
Troy forced the usually sure-handed Bulldogs into 22 turnovers while committing just 14 themselves. Troy scored 19 points off of those miscues, while Samford scored just nine from the Trojan mistakes.
The Trojans now have 10 days before their next game, which comes on Saturday, December 13, when Alabama State visits Trojan Arena in the final of three straight at home for the Trojans.
Georgia State Upset by Owls, 73-64
ATLANTA - Georgia State was upset by the wise Owls from Kennesaw State 73-64. GSU was 3-1 as a result of a defense that averaged 13.3 steals and forced 24 turnovers a game. Tonight, the wise Owls, now 5-2, turned the ball over just seven times and allowed two steals in rallying in the second half for the first win over GSU in Kennesaw State's history.
Georgia State and Kennesaw State traded leads 11 times with six ties. The host Panthers started quick with an 8-0 lead, led by nine points at 14-5, and rallied to take a 40-35 lead into halftime.
GSU led 44-37 one minute into the second half, but an 8-0 KSU run was capped by a 3-pointer by Deandra Sawyers for a 45-44 KSU advantage. Georgia State regained the momentum and was up 55-53 with 12 minutes to go. KSU got a trey from Aareon Smith to start a crucial 9-0 run that gave the Owls a 62-55 advantage at 8:30.
GSU closed to 65-59 at 7:13, but then went more than five minutes without making a basket and KSU pulled away for the win.
Kennesaw State worked the ball inside and scored 42 points in the paint with 18 assists on 31 baskets made. Forward Jasmine McAllister shot 11 of 16 for 26 points, while Deandra Sawyers hit 9 of 17 for 22 points to lead the Owls. For KSU, it was a second win over a Sun Belt school as the Owls beat Georgia Southern by 21 points earlier.
Georgia State used its full roster and substitution patterns with 34 points coming from the bench. Ashlee Cole's 12 points off the bench led the team, with Makeba Ponder scoring nine coming in reserve. Senior center Brittany Logan had 10 rebounds. Kayla Nolan added nine rebounds and eight points. Georgia State held a 41-35 rebound advantage with 17 offensive rebounds.
Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener was blunt with her assessment: "We were not very good defensively and it wasn't our usual standard," she started. "We probably didn't give our best effort for the full 40 minutes. We had a hard time scoring tonight no matter where we shot it from. Nothing seemed to fall for us tonight. Kennesaw State deserved to win with their performance tonight."
Georgia State led the all-time series 6-0 as the streak ended with tonight's loss. GSU returns to action Sunday at Morehead State.