STATESBORO - Troy women's basketball rebounded from its first loss to the Eagles in 43 years, picking up a 92-83 Sun Belt Conference win over host Georgia Southern on a Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
A day after Georgia Southern (8-9, 4-6 SBC) ended a 17-game losing streak to the Trojans (12-5, 8-2 SBC), Troy returned to the win column to keep ahold of first place in the East Division standings.
In direct contrast to yesterday's contest, the first quarter took a defensive posture as both teams shot less than 30% from the field. Troy scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 17-14 lead at the end of the frame.
The second period saw the Trojans use a 14-3 run early in the period to take a 33-20 lead with six minutes left until halftime. Troy held that double-digit advantage into the break, leading 46-34.
An 8-0 run right after the third-quarter media time out for the Eagles - including six points from Shondell Vickers - cut Troy's lead to single digits, 58-50, forcing a time out by the Trojans with 3:15 left in the period. Troy pushed the lead back to 10, 66-56, at the end of the third quarter.
Still leading by 10, the Trojans embarked on a 7--0 run to take a 79-62 lead with 6:50 left and the Eagles only got the margin within single digits with the last bucket of the contest.
Terren Ward set a career high in scoring for a second consecutive night with 20 points, while Vickers finished the day with 17 points. Eden Johnson picked up 10 points as well for the Eagles. Five Trojans reached double figures, led by Janiah Sandifer's 21 points and Jasmine Robinson's 20 points.
Prior to the game, the Eagles honored their three seniors - Tatum Barber, A'Tyanna Gaulden and Sarah Moore - in a Senior Day ceremony.
Eagle of the Game
Ward notched her first career 20+ point performance by hitting a pair of three-pointers and knocking down 10-of-13 free throws. She added nine rebounds, narrowly missing her second straight double-double, and added a pair of assists and a steal.
Stat of the Game
The two teams combined to shoot just 25 free throws combined in Friday night's contest - 11 for Troy and 14 for the Eagles. Today, Troy went 26-of-35 from the line, notching a season-high in free throws made, while Georgia Southern went 16-of-20 from the line.
Quotables • LISTEN TO FULL POSTGAME COMMENTS HERE
Head Coach Anita Howard on the contest against the Trojans
"We knew Troy wasn't going to be back down just because we won the first game yesterday. We expected them to come out, be a little more aggressive in going to the basket, and they did just that. Troy going to the free throw line, shooting 35 free throws, is evident of them attacking us. I like that we still fought all the way up to the end."
Next Up
The Eagles will host in-state rival Georgia State on Thursday, February 11, in a 6 p.m. Sun Belt Conference contest from Hanner Fieldhouse.
