Rachael Wilkerson
Contributor
The Troy women’s basketball team is on a four-game winning streak after defeating Thomas University, Villanova and Loyola over Thanksgiving break.
The Trojans (4-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) defeated Thomas University 110-55 on Monday, Nov. 21, in the Dothan Civic Center. Then, they handled business in the San Juan Shootout at Daytona Beach, picking up a pair of significant wins.
Troy held a 16-point lead over Thomas in the first quarter and kept the lead throughout the game. Although Troy had 19 turnovers, it made up for that with 27 steals and 56 rebounds to come away with a commanding victory.
The Trojans had four players scoring in double figures, led by La’Tia Fils-Aime’s 17 points and eight rebounds. She played only 12 minutes.
After a short break, the Trojans traveled to face off against Villanova in a Thanksgiving Day showdown. The Trojans showed out in Daytona Beach, defeating a Big East school for the first time in Troy history.
After falling behind in the first half, Troy bounced back, outscoring Villanova by nine points in the second half thanks to 42 percent shooting from the floor.
Junior Amanda Mendoza contributed 14 points for the Trojans. Twelve of those came consecutively in the third quarter, pushing the Trojans’ lead to seven.
The Wildcats cut the lead to five with just under a minute left to play, but Mendoza hit back-to-back free throws to put the game away.
Leading the Trojans in scoring were Claresa Banks, who had 20 points in the game, and Lauren Day, who added 13.
Less than 24 hours later, the team rode the momentum from its win to a 91-67 win over Loyola on Friday at the Ocean Center. Troy shot 47 percent in the game and forced 15 turnovers on its way to its fourth consecutive win.
The Trojans took a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back, using a balanced scoring attack to dismantle the Ramblers.
Fils-Aime’ led the Trojans with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Harriett Winchester contributed 12. ArJae’ Saunders and Kayla Robinson each had 11 points that night.
Head Coach Chanda Rigby’s team sits at No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference standings, and it is also ranked 10th nationally in points per game with an average of 87.4.
The Trojans have scored 90-plus points in four straight games for the second time in school history (1991-92) and the first time since moving to Division I.
They look to continue that streak come Sunday when they take on Alabama State at 3 p.m. in Trojan Arena.
