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The Troy Trojans women’s basketball team (2-4) erased a 20-point deficit to defeat the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (6-1) by a score of 80-73 in overtime in the first game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

The win marked the largest Troy comeback since 2021. Troy scored just seven points in the opening period and trailed 39-19 at halftime. Troy began to chip away at the lead in the third quarter and went into the final period of regulation trailing 58-49.

For the majority of the final quarter, Alaska-Anchorage maintained that lead but a 9-0 run cut the lead to 66-60. Troy’s Briana Peguero then knocked down a three-pointer and was fouled with under three minutes remaining. She knocked down the free throw to bring Troy within two points.

Over the next nearly two minutes of game time Alaska-Anchorage scored just one point and then Troy’s Shaulana Wagner hit a layup to cut the lead to 67-66. She was also fouled on the play and knocked down the free throw to tie things up with under 10 seconds remaining. The tie forced overtime.

Just 48 seconds into overtime, Trojan Fortuna Ngnawa knocked down a jumper to give Troy its first lead of the game. The Trojans would never look back as they outscored Alaska-Anchorage 13-6 in the overtime period.

“What a game Alaska-Anchorage had in that ballgame. They caught us completely off guard in that first half,” Troy Coach Chanda Rigby said. “We had to get in that locker room and build up some confidence because they had us rattled on the defensive end. Our motto was, ‘They did something to us in that first half, let’s go do something to them.’

“The team did just that, and I’m very proud of them for that. We handled their pressure better and got them out of rhythm with our press. It seemed to cause a lot of trouble. This opportunity is truly amazing, and we’re here to win a tournament. We got close to getting knocked out of it early tonight, so we must remember what we came here for. We want to win this prestigious tournament.”

Troy shot 41.8 percent from the field and held Alaska-Anchorage to 37.5 percent shooting, while the Trojans also shot 31.3 percent from three-point land holding the Sea Wolves to 16.1 percent in three-pointers.Troy won the rebound battle 46-39 but turned the ball over 22 times.

Wagner led Troy with 20 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Ngnawo scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Zay Dyer scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Peguero tallied 10 points, three assists, two steals and two rebound. Jazzpher Evans led Alaska-Anchorage with 14 points, while Tori Hollingshead added 13 points.

Troy will play in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. against North Dakota State.