Trojans clinch No. 1 seed

( Photo / Troy Athletics )The Troy women’s basketball team defeated Coastal Carolina this weekend elevating them to the number one seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.Wesley KirchharrSports Writer The Troy women’s basketball team escaped a weekend road series with Sun Belt rival Coastal Carolina, improving to 19-5 overall and taking the Sun Belt East Division title and securing its spot as the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Coastal (3-13, 0-12 Sun Belt) refused to go down as they kept pace with the Trojan offense, and each team shot 47 percent from the field. The Chanticleers held the lead briefly in the first quarter, but Troy was not able to hold a double-digit lead until just before the final buzzer. “I’m proud of our team’s effort and determination, said head coach Chanda Rigby. “If their determination wasn’t 100 percent, we would have never won this game against Coastal on their home court.” Senior forward Alexis Dye paced the Trojans with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Jasmine Robinson followed Dye’s double-double with 16 points of her own. In Troy’s final regular season matchup, the Trojans surpassed the 100-point threshold for the third time this season as Troy won 103-89. The win brought the Trojans’ conference record to 15-2, the Sun Belt wins in the conference for the second straight year. Despite this, Troy finished as runner-up in the league standings, closely behind Louisiana (14-5, 13-1 SBC, .928 percentage) with one conference loss. Senior guard Tiyah Johnson led the Trojans on offense as she contributed 21 points on a career high five three-pointers. Junior forward Felmas Koranga posted a double-double with a pair of career highs as she scored 18 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Up next, the Trojans will travel to Pensacola, Florida to take part in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. The quarterfinals are set to begin Saturday, March 6 in the Bay Center Arena.