Wally Pendergrass
Staff Writer
The Troy women’s basketball team fell short in its two opening games against Auburn and Clemson over the weekend.
The Trojans battled against the Auburn Tigers in Auburn on Friday, Nov. 14. The game was decided during the closing minutes of the first half.
Troy was only losing by two points, 31-29, with around three minutes to go in the first half. The Tigers buckled down and forced the Trojans to commit five turnovers and miss five shots.
The Tigers went on a 12-0 run to end the half with a 43-29 lead.
The Trojans played good defense in the second half, forcing the Tigers into 15 turnovers. However, the Trojans shot poorly in the second half, making eight out of 36 baskets, for 22 percent.
Troy held on in the second half and was only outscored by three points, 28-25, but when added to the first half total, resulted in a 71-54 win for the Tigers.
“They did a fantastic job of taking us out of our running game,” head coach Chanda Rigby said. “We worked against what we thought would be their zone press, but we have nothing, not even our men’s practice team, that can mimic the length they have. That caused us a lot of problems and stymied us.”
Senior forward Ronita Garrett ended the night with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Trojans continued their road trip on Sunday, Nov. 16, against Clemson in Clemson, South Carolina.
Troy had a five-point lead, 32-27, with slightly over three minutes to play in the first half.
Once again, the Trojans had a letdown before halftime, committing three turnovers and missing five shots.
Clemson went on a 11-0 run to take a 38-32 lead into halftime.
The Trojans had a rough stretch right after halftime and the Tigers built up to a 13-point lead. The Trojans couldn’t catch up, as Clemson made 24 total free throws out of 27 and kept Troy at arm’s length for the second half.
The Tigers would go on to win the game 82-73, even though Troy had a higher shooting percentage and out-rebounded the Tigers 43-40.
“The let down was the last four minutes of the second half,” Rigby said. “We lost intensity there. We did a lot of things better than them and we just need to build off of that between now and Friday.”
Garett had her second straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Caitlyn Ramirez and senior guard Ashley Beverly-Kelley each had 10 points, while sophomore forward Kristen Emerson fell just short of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Trojans will play their first home game of the season this Friday, Nov. 21, against Southeastern Louisiana at noon in Trojan Arena.
After that the Trojans will play Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida, on Monday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m.
