Trojans Take Down Loyola Chicago
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – The Troy women's basketball team finished off a perfect 3-0 week with a 91-67 win over Loyola Chicago on Friday at the Ocean Center.
La'Tia Fils-Aime' (16), Harriet Winchester (12), ArJae' Saunders (11), Kayla Robinson (11) and Claresa Banks (10) all scored in double figures while Dajia Williams collected 10 rebounds for the second time this season.
After battling in a back-and-forth game early, the Trojans took control of the contest in the second quarter. Troy's fast-paced offense opened up a 35-18 lead courtesy of an 18-4 run. Fils-Aime' dominated the post with eight points in quarter complimented by a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Kayla Robinson.
After Loyola (0-5) closed the gap to just nine points, 58-49, in the third quarter, a 21-5 run that split the final two quarters helped extinguish any chance of a Rambler comeback.
The Trojans (4-1) finished the game with 13 conversions from beyond the arc, the most made 3-pointers in a game this season. The team was deadly from close range scoring 32 points in the paint. Fils-Aime' finished with a team-best 16 points while Saunders and Jayla Chills led the attack with six assists each.
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"I think we had a little bit of an emotional letdown after the big win yesterday," head coach Chanda Rigby said. "As always, we hope to use it as a learning experience and move forward. I'm grateful to have had this experience with the team, a big tournament setting in Daytona. To leave with two wins makes it a great experience."
STAT OF THE GAME
The Trojans entered the game averaging 49.8 rebounds per contest and collected 50 more on Friday. Fils-Aime' gathered eight boards while Ramirez and Chills totaled seven each.
UP NEXT
Troy will take an eight-day break before hosting Alabama State on Dec. 4. The game is part of a doubleheader with the men's team. Tipoff for the women is set for 3 p.m.
Cajuns Defeat Redhawks In Overtime, 82-78
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Simone Fields recorded a double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team defeated Southeast Missouri State 82-78 in overtime in the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic.
Louisiana (2-1) will face tournament host Southern Miss (4-1) in the championship game on Saturday at 4 p.m. CST.
Southeast Missouri State (2-4) gave the Cajuns all they could handle on Friday, but strong play in overtime from Louisiana senior guard Jaylyn Gordon gave the Cajuns the boost they needed down the stretch.
Gordon scored 12 of her 21 points in overtime and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the extra frame to seal the deal for the Cajuns.
"Jaylyn means a lot to us because she is our point guard and handles most of the pressure that is given by the other team," head coach Garry Brodhead said. "She was 11-for-11 from the free throw line and I thought that was big. We were 17-for-20 as a team, so I think that helped us get the win."
Louisiana took an early 8-3 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter when Fields knocked down a jumper.
Southeast Missouri State responded with a 9-0 run and a three-pointer by Hannah Noe gave the Redhawks a 12-8 lead with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
The Cajuns led 16-14 when Fields connected on a jumper with one second left in the period.
"Simone can score and we were able to get her a lot of touches in the first half," Brodhead said. "They started to triple team her and Jaylyn Gordon as well as Jasmine Thomas stepped up."
Louisiana took a 25-20 lead with 4:35 left in the second quarter when Fields hit another jumper. Jodi Quinn made a layup at the buzzer and the Cajuns led 30-25 at halftime.
The Cajuns led by as many as seven when Thomas knocked down a three pointer to give Louisiana a 41-34 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
Noe hit back-to-back three-pointers for the Redhawks to cut the Cajuns lead to 49-48 with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
"I was proud of the fact that they hung in there and fought through all of those three-pointers and found a way to win," Brodhead said.
Fields made a jumper with 20 seconds left in the third quarter and Louisiana led 51-48 at the end of the period.
The Cajuns led 55-50 with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter when junior guard Troi Swain made a layup.
Southeast Missouri State trimmed the lead to 55-54 with 6:35 remaining on four straight free throws from Olivia Hackmann, who led the Redhawks with 19 points.
Louisiana led 65-60 with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter when Fields connected on one-of-two free throws.
The Redhawks knocked down two jumpers and Hackmann converted on one-of-two free throws to tie the game 65-65 with 1:01 remaining. Neither team scored in the final minute of regulation to force the extra period.
The Cajuns opened up overtime with Thomas connecting on a layup and drawing a foul. Thomas converted the free throw to give Louisiana a 68-65 lead with 4:55 left in overtime.
Gordon also made a layup and was fouled in the process. She made the free throw to put the Cajuns in front 76-70 with 3:17 left in overtime.
Southeast Missouri State cut the Louisiana lead to 78-76 with 1:15 left in overtime when Deja Jones knocked down two free throws.
Four straight made free throws from Gordon and solid defense in the final minute helped the Cajuns preserve the win.
JAGUARS DEFEAT NORTH FLORIDA 62-55 ON BLACK FRIDAY
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (3-2) defeated North Florida (3-3) 62-55 in its first game of the Jacksonville Thanksgiving Classic on Friday afternoon at Historic Swisher Gym. After the game was tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Jaguars went on a 13-0 run and never relinquished the lead.
"I thought we started the game nip and tuck," said head coach Terry Fowler. "We were then able to get a good lead, and then North Florida finished the first half on a 9-0 run. I was really proud of our kids because they kept fighting and grinding. The coaching staff told them afterwards that in the long run this is who we are. We're not going to be winning many games by large margins unless it's a night where almost all of our shots are falling in. So three-possession games are the ones you have to win. It was a solid win on the road with us doing so. We made free throws down the stretch and got the stops we needed to. I think we're starting to find our identity, and our kids are buying into that's who we are."
The Ospreys were able to make it a one-possession game with less than five minutes left in the game after hitting three three-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars responded with a 6-0 run with layups by Erin Autio and Genesis Perrymond and a pair of free throws by Chyna Ellis for a 55-46 lead with 2:37 left in the game. The Jaguars maintained at least a two-possession lead the rest of the way.
The Jaguars' last seven points came on free throws to preserve the lead for a victory. Colby Davis made all four of her attempts at the line and went 9-9 in the entire game. Overall the Jags went 19-24 (79.2%) at the line with Ellis going 8-11 and Perrymond 2-4.
"We took care of the basketball, especially late in the game," said Fowler. "Like the New Orleans' win we were able to make clutch free throws with not much time left and us holding onto a lead. We were also securing rebounds. They went to a press, and we were able to get to our press offense without turning it over at all."
South Alabama had the lead for over 31 minutes of the game. After a first quarter that went back and forth, the Jaguars got hot from behind the three-point line to start the second quarter. Ellis opened the quarter with a pair of free throws, and Candice Williams knocked down a three in the next possession. After Davis made two free throws she then hit her first three of the game off a pass by Williams. Savannah Jones then capped the run with a three of her own on another dish by Williams.
"The key for Colby is to be aggressive," said Fowler. "She's a driver and then was able to make a couple three's in that key run in the second quarter. The thing about that is she's not what you would label as a great three-point shooter. However her selection is usually solid, and she'll make a good amount of the three's as a result."
North Florida's Simone Brown stopped the team's scoring drought with a jumper three and a half minutes into the quarter, but Davis then converted a three-point play after getting fouled on a layup that gave the Jags a 14-point lead, their biggest of the game. The Ospreys responded with a 9-0 run to only trail by five at halftime.
The first half of the third quarter went back and forth until North Florida's Tesh Hanson made a three point play after getting fouled on a jumper in the lane. Leading just 35-32 with 5:30 left in the quarter, the Jags limited the Ospreys to just one point the rest of the quarter. Ellis had a three-point play that made it a two-possession game. After another made free throw by Hanson, Ellis made a layup on the next possession. Davis gave the Jags a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter on a runner in the lane with less than a minute left.
Ellis and Davis both had 16 points. Davis had four rebounds, three assists and a game-high two steals while Ellis had seven boards and tied for a game-high two blocks.
"Chyna was aggressive once again, but I thought we started really looking into her in the post," said Fowler. "We started focusing on the game plan and saw some things that were advantageous for her. She certainly was able to go out and execute that."
Williams led the Jags with four assists in addition to six points on two three-pointers. Autio tied Ellis for a team-high seven rebounds and also had nine points. Coming off the bench Jones went 3-6 from behind the three-point line for nine points, and also Shaforia Kines had two points and three rebounds.
The Jags finished with 21-13 turnover advantage and had 12 assists. Off 11 offensive rebounds South Alabama was able to get 14 second chance points. The Jags ended the game shooting 32.1 % (18-56) from the field and 31.8% (7-22) from behind the three-point line.
South Alabama will face the host of the tournament Jacksonville tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. C.T.
HOLSTON'S BUZZER-BEATER LIFTS GSU TO VICTORY IN OT
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Playing its fourth game in six days, Georgia State needed more than four quarters to defeat American Friday night in Daytona Beach, but Tiffany Holston hit her first 3-pointer as a Panther to beat the buzzer in OT and win the game 59-58 for GSU.
Georgia State trailed American 53-50 with 24 seconds left in regulation when freshman Jada Lewis swished a 3-pointer to even the score and send the game to OT. Lewis scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, the Panthers jumped on top and led by one, 56-55 with 14 seconds to go. American drove the ball and Holston stepped up to take a charge and get the ball back for the Panthers. However, the Eagles would get a turnover of their own and nail a 3-pointer from the corner with just seconds to go to take a 58-56 lead. That’s when Lewis received the inbounds pass with 5.2 seconds, dribbled across midcourt and found Holston who launched her first 3-point attempt as a Panther as the buzzer sounded.
The three points not only lifted GSU to victory, it also gave the graduate transfer her third double-double of the season as she finished with 10 points and 13 boards. In three seasons at Albany State, Holston made just seven three pointers, making Friday's shot even more impressive.
Both playing in their home state, junior Astaja Tyghter and freshman Jaylyn Harrison each had strong performances with Tyghter scoring 10 points and Harrison tallying four points and two rebounds.
Sophomore Kierra Henry recorded seven points and four steals while Kennesha Nichols earned six rebounds to go with a block and a steal.