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The Troy Trojans (0-2) women’s team lost their second straight contest to open the 2024-2025 basketball season on Thursday by a score of 73-63 to the Montana State Bobcats (2-0) on the road.

Troy trailed for most of the game but there still was 10 lead changes throughout. Montana State led 19-18 going into the second quarter and held on to a 39-31 lead at halftime. The Bobcats held a 55-47 lead going into the final period and outscored the Trojans 18-16 in the fourth.

Troy shot 41.5 percent from the field and held Montana State to 37.9 percent shooting. The Trojans knocked down just 1-of-12 three-point attempts, however, while the Bobcats hit 11-of-36 threes. Troy won the rebound battle 48-39, but gave up 22 turnovers compared to Montana State’s 15.

“We had a tough game here on the road. They were too smart to make many mistakes and capitalized on it all night,” Troy Coach Chanda Rigby said. “With this team that is so new, we are making too many mistakes to beat a team like that. We have Alabama next, and we will get better for that game. The priority is getting back to Troy rebounding. We only had five offensive rebounds at halftime, and that’s unacceptable. As coaches, we need to learn our players better to use them in certain situations. We have lost two games, which we are not proud of. However, we are learning and plan to return strong.”

Troy was led by Fortuna Ngnawo with her second straight double-double of the season, scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds. Brianna Jackson added 14 points and four boards, while Ashley Baez chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and one steal. Shaulana Wagner scored eight points and dished five assists with two steals.

Ella Johnson and Marah Dykstra scored 14 points each for the Bobcats, while Taylee Chrrick earned nine rebounds.

Troy is heading back to Alabama this weekend but will remain on the road as the Trojans face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Nov. 10.