Women's Basketball

Troy Falls to Buffalo in WNIT Championship

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Troy’s season came to an end in the WNIT title game with a loss to Buffalo, 88-84, Saturday afternoon in Alumni Arena.

Despite finishing runner up, Zay Dyer and Briana Peguero received WNIT All-Tournament team honors with 16.6 and 16 points per game, respectively.

Dyer led Troy with her 18th double-double of the season on 15 points and 17 rebounds. Six players joined her in double figures in, Khila Morris (11), Emani Jenkins (11), Shaulana Wagner (10), Brianna Jackson (10) and Fortuna Ngnawo (10).

The Bulls rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Troy 27-20 to go into the fourth quarter down three, 64-61, after Peguero scored a pair of free throws with less than a minute left. Buffalo knotted the game at 64 with Harness' triple 0:38 into the final 10 minutes, but Troy took the lead with a and-one from Jackson with 9:01 left.

Ashley Baez finished a four-point burst at 7:12 to lead by six points, 71-65. With 3:26 remaining, Buffalo's two-headed monster of Watson and Lewis-Williams tied the game with a pair of 3-pointers - Watson converted from behind the arc, while Lewis-Williams hit the and-one to tie the game at 80.

Troy's Jackson retook the lead, 81-80, 14 seconds later at the free throw line, but Harness responded with her 17th point of the half, a deep shot, to lead by 83-81. Buffalo increased their advantage to five, 86-81, with 29 seconds remaining on a Jordyn Beaty layup and a Lewis-Williams free throw.

Jenkins rallied Troy when she was fouled on a 3-point attempt and scored all three free throws to make it 86-84 with 0:18 remaining. Following the deliberate foul, Beaty made a free throw, 87-84, to give Troy a chance to tie the game. Chanda Rigby called a timeout to set up the play, but Leilani Guion was stripped by Lewis-Williams on a drive inside, allowing Lewis-Williams to seal the victory at the line and win the title, 88-84.