Troy downs Arkansas State as Leggett returns
The Troy Trojans women’s basketball team (7-7, 2-1) picked up their 11th straight win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-9, 0-3) with a 83-67 win on the road Thursday night.
Troy jumped out to a 26-14 lead in the first quarter but the Red Wolves closed the gap to 42-36 going into halftime. The Trojans, though, owned the second half and outscored the Red Wolves 41-31 to pick up the dominant win and return to .500 on the season. The win also gave Troy its second straight Sun Belt Conference win.
Troy dominated the boards against Arkansas State, outrebounding the Red Wolves 56-38 and forced 20 turnovers. Troy also outscored Arkansas State 36-18 and scored 26 second-chance points to just eight for ASU.
“We played really hard and with a lot of intensity like you have to on the road,” Troy coach Chanda Rigby said. “It was a great team effort and we played with a lot of energy. You can’t always bank on making shots, but you can play great defense and shoot great from the free throw line, which we did tonight.”
Nia Daniel led Troy in the win with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Makayia Hallmon earned 16 points, four assists and two steals. In her second start of the season, Janeen Camp chipped in with eight points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Tai’Sheka Porchia added nine points and eight rebounds.
Troy also got a surprise this week as All-Sun Belt performer Amber Leggett returned to the Trojans after initially deciding to step away from basketball in the offseason. In just 13 minutes on the court, Leggett scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Troy women are back in action this Saturday, Jan. 7, at Georgia State at 1 p.m.