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The Troy Trojans women’s basketball team (9-7, 3-1) won their third straight Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday with an 85-68 win over the Appalachian state Mountaineers (7-7, 3-1) on Thursday. 

The win marks Troy’s ninth straight over Appalachian State in Boone, NC, and Appalachian State’s first conference loss of the season. 

Appalachian State was leading the Sun Belt in field goal percentage coming into the contest but the Trojans held the Mountaineers to just 31.6 percent shooting, while Troy shot 50.7 percent. 

Troy and App State were knotted up 16-16 in the first quarter but outscored the Mountaineers 69-52 for the remainder of the game. Troy also won the rebound battle 46-44 and dominated the paint, outscoring the Mountaineers 42-26 inside. Troy also scored 16 points off turnovers and outscored the Mountaineers 23-11 in bench scoring. 

“I’m extremely proud of this team for coming up to App State and beating the team leading the league in points and (that was) undefeated in league play,” Troy Coach Chanda Rigby said. “It’s been a long trip, and we were without two key players, so to come together the way they did and get the win makes me beyond proud. This game is exactly what you want to see as a coach.”

Troy’s Zay Dyer earned her ninth double-double of the season, tallying 22 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in the win, while Ashley Baez added 20 points and four steals. Briana Pegeuro also earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Fortuna Ngnawo added 11 points and nine rebounds. Zada Porter led the Mountaineers with 18 points. 

Troy is back on the road Saturday for another conference game at noon.