Scott Shelton
Staff Writer
The Troy women’s basketball team picked up two Sun Belt Conference wins on the road last week, defeating Louisiana-Monroe 86-79 on Thursday and Louisiana 62-55 on Saturday.
The Trojans were led by sophomore guard Kayla Robinson, who combined for 42 points in the two games. That, along with her double-double in Saturday’s game, earned her Sun Belt Player of the Week honors.
With the pair of wins, Troy has also manufactured a three-game win streak, its longest since its first three games of the season.
The team started its road swing at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks led by three after the first quarter, but the Trojans tied the game 42-42 by halftime.
The Trojans were led by a combined 68 points from Kayla Robinson, Jasmine Robinson and Amber Rivers. Kayla Robinson scored 23 points, including three 3-pointers. Jasmine Robinson scored 22 points and made all six of her free-throw attempts. Rivers scored 23 points and shot 63 percent from the field.
Four Warhawks reached double-digits in points, but the Trojans limited them to shooting just 33 percent from the 3-point range and 40 percent overall on their way to an 86-79 win.
Two days later at Louisiana, the Trojans and the Ragin’ Cajuns were stuck in a defensive battle. The Trojans scored just nine points in the first quarter, but in the second quarter they held the Ragin’ Cajuns to just five points.
The offense picked up in the second half, and the Trojans pulled away to win 62-55, despite leading for only 12 minutes total in the game.
The team was led by 19 points from Kayla Robinson, who also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to earn a double-double. Other Trojans in double-digits were Rivers with 15 points and Harriet Winchester with 11 points.
Kayla Robinson’s double-double marked her second in three games. Kayla Robinson has also scored at least 14 points in five-straight games, and she’s now third in the Sun Belt Conference in assists with 4.9 per game.
The Trojans struggled from the 3-point arc, making just three of 15 attempts.
However, the team’s defense made up for the poor shooting. Louisiana was held to just 33 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Trojans also took an advantage in rebounding, grabbing 46 boards — including 13 offensive rebounds — compared to Louisiana’s 33 rebounds.
With the road sweep, the Trojans’ record improves to 10-10 and 5-4 in Sun Belt play.
Next, the team will play at home against rival South Alabama on Saturday at 2 p.m., which will be a whiteout game. The first 500 Troy students will receive a whiteout T-shirt, and the first 2,000 fans will receive a whiteout rally towel.
