Wally Pendergrass
Staff Writer
The Troy women’s basketball team brought home two victories and many memories from its summer trip to Italy. The Trojans spent eight days in Italy from Aug. 1-9 and toured Rome, Florence, Montecatini, Pisa, Venice and Treviso.
On the first few days of the trip, the team toured Rome and its historic landmarks, including the famous Roman Colosseum. The players enjoyed the sights, the sounds and the local cuisine.
After two days, the team traveled to see Vatican City and the Vatican Museum. The team then took a bus ride and held a clinic for around 40 children at the Leonardo da Vinci Sport Center in Montecatini Terme, Italy.
The team would then travel to Florence, Italy, and get a tour of the Galleria dell’Accademia, which houses Michelangelo’s famous statue of David. The group then took a short one-hour drive to Pisa and visited the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. That evening the Trojans would play the first game of the tour against the Italy All-Stars, which the Trojans won 81-75.
The day after the victory, the Trojans traveled to Venice and toured the Vecchia Murano Glass Factory. The players enjoyed free time and then traveled to Treviso, which would be their final stop. In Treviso, the Trojans played in the 7,000-seat PalaTrieste and defeated ASD Societa Ginnastica 79-70 to conclude their tour of Italy.
On the court, Troy showed that it has the ability to win, despite not shooting the ball well. For the trip, the Trojans shot only 36 percent from the floor, but they outrebounded their opponents 127-84 and committed fewer turnovers than their opponents in each game.
Junior guard Ashley Beverly-Kelley led the Trojans in scoring for the tour with a total of 42 points and an average of 21 points per game. Senior forward Kourtney Coleman also had a nice tour, scoring 33 points and pulling down an impressive 26 rebounds. Sophomore forward Kristen Emerson played well off the bench, scoring 17 points for the tour, including a career-high 15 points in the game against ASD Societa Ginnastica. Emerson also pulled down 19 rebounds over the two games.
The Trojans are now back home in Troy and are preparing for the 2014-2015 campaign. The women’s basketball team has an exhibition game against Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday, Nov. 6, and starts official play Friday, Nov. 14, against Auburn University in Auburn.
