TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Saturday, Troy Women’s Basketball beat ULM in a heated match that became too close for comfort, thanks to a foul that gave Troy the win it needed to stay in first.
“The way they played in the fourth quarter is the way they’ve been playing, and the way we expected them to play,” said Head Coach Chanda Rigby. “So everyone has been saying, ‘oh, they turned it on in the fourth quarter.’ That’s how they’ve been playing, and it’s hard to play a team like that.”
ULM came in strong, taking the lead in the beginning of the first quarter, but the Trojan defense turned up the heat and came back with some huge defensive plays, including a block from Fortuna Ngnawo, and rebounds from Zay Dyer, who had another double double for the night.
“It’s good to know I can be that consistent piece for my team every night,” Dyer said. “The stats show I’m fairly consistent. Just bring that every night, doing what I need to do, being there for my team.
“Even if I don’t get a double double, which would suck, but I’m going to do what I can for every game possible, and for the past ten games it’s been that way.”
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That heat helped the Trojans cook as Emani Jenkins put down four three’s to give the Trojans the lead. Ngawo increased that deficit throughout the rest of the match, putting up seven field goals and eight free throws.
Going into the fourth quarter the Trojans had a lead of 15 points, but ULM slowly crept their way back into the game and tied the match with a minute on the clock. With seconds left, Troy called a timeout.
“We just kept calling timeout and just wanted to remind them don’t panic, we’re still in this,” Rigby said. “This is what were born to do. I wanted to make sure just because we lost the lead, we didn’t forget what we’re supposed to do.”
With one last play, Ngnawo received the ball and went up for a layup, and a foul was called giving the Trojans one more chance to win. Ngnawo stepped up to the line and sunk two free throws to end the game 82-80.
“I took my time, took a breath in, and I just felt like I got this,” Ngnawo said. “I do this everyday, this is just repetition.”
Ngnawoand the rest of her team will be back home on the 21st to take on Troy’s rival South Alabama.
