The Troy women’s basketball team fell to 0-8 after a 55-45 loss to American University Sunday afternoon at Sartain Hall.

The Trojans led late but costly turnovers helped the Eagles to a 21-6 run in the final 10:30 to pull away.

Troy led by as many as six but committed 16 turnovers in the second half.

““The turning point came in the last three and a half minutes where we got lost on a couple of defensive assignments and they were able to capitalize, head coach Michael Murphy said. “One thing that really gave us a chance tonight was our offensive rebounds. We did a great job attacking the glass, but we got lost a couple times on defense in the last three and a half minutes of the game.”

Junior Sophie Kleeman led Trojans scorers with 12 points.

Despite the rough start, Murhpy feels his team is beginning to show improvement. The Trojans have also been plagued with injury. As many as three starters have missed significant playing time due to various ailments.

“We’re just going through a tough stretch here because of our lack of bodies at practice due to injuries,” Murphy said. “There’s nothing fun about losing but there’s no one that’s going to feel sorry for us and we’re just going to have to get back to practice and try to get better.”

Troy will travel to Montgomery Dec. 15 to take on Alabama State. Tip is set for 6 p.m.