Troy Battles Back to Defeat Villanova
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Behind a second-half surge, the Troy women's basketball team knocked off Villanova, 93-85, in the San Juan Shootout at the Ocean Center on Thursday.
The Trojans (3-1) jumped out front early on a jumper by Caitlyn Ramirez and a 3-pointer from Claresa Banks. From there, Villanova went on a 15-0 run in the middle of the quarter to open a 20-9 lead.
The Wildcats (1-3) kept Troy at arms length with accurate shots from range knocking down eight of 21 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half. The Trojans were able to cut the deficit to 10 points, 34-24, at the 7:36 mark in the second quarter on a La'Tia Fils-Aime' layup and a trio of free throws from Banks, but Nova shot 47.1 percent (16-34) in the half to take a 45-37 advantage into the locker room.
Amanda Mendoza exploded for 14 points in the third quarter including 12 straight with a pair of 3-pointers mixed in as the Trojans outscored Villanova 30-15 in the frame to take the lead, 67-60. Entering the quarter, Mendoza had made just two baskets on the season with both coming in the fourth quarter against Belmont; she was 3-for-5 in the third period alone.
Mendoza finished with a team-high 21 points and was 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Banks scored 20 points, a new career-high, and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. Senior Lauren Day chipped in with a career-high 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
QUOTABLE
"We are always trying to accomplish really big things; this was another step up, another first, another big thing," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "We might not have ever been down that many points to that good of a team and come back and won. A lot of that (comeback) can be attributed to Amanda Mendoza; who would have thought, at her size, she could have taken on those players twice her size and score, but she did. She scored inside, she scored outside and she made some perfect passes to her teammates that allowed them to score."
STAT OF THE GAME
Troy trailed 45-37 to start the second half when Mendoza took over. The junior from Miami, Fla., scored the Trojans' first 12 points of the third quarter and tied the game with her last of two free throws at the 6:29 mark. From that point, Troy opened a nine-point lead that it never relinquished.
UP NEXT
Troy continues play in the San Juan Shootout on Friday when the team faces off against Loyola Chicago at 2:30 p.m. (CT); it will be the first meeting between the schools. The Ramblers fell to Clemson, 61-40, earlier in the tournament.
GEORGIA STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS THANKSGIVING GAME TO PENN STATE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Taking on Penn State in the first of two games at the San Juan Shootout, Georgia State was defeated 69-42 at the Ocean Center Thursday afternoon.
Georgia State got 12 points from Kennesha Nichols, but the rest of the Panthers struggled from the floor as the team shot just 28%. For Nichols, she finished just four points shy of matching her career high of 16 points.
Despite Penn State having a size advantage at nearly every position, Georgia State held their own in the paint and the rebound battle was evenly matched, leaning 44-42 in PSU’s favor. Tiffany Holston led the Panthers with 10 boards to tally her fourth double-digit rebounding performance of the season.
Makeba Ponder knocked down a pair of three pointers and had the second most points on the team with eight. Playing in her home state for the first time as a Panther, freshman Jaylyn Harrison paced the team with four assists.
The game was decided in the turnover battle as the Lady Lions tallied 25 points off turnovers compared to GSU’s eight.
Next up for Georgia State is the second and final game at the San Juan Shootout in Daytona Beach, Fla. GSU will take on American Friday at 5:45 p.m.