Women’s basketball earns conference win over ODU

Brady Fitch photo

Leilani Guion handles the ball during Troy’s game against Old Dominion.

Troy women’s basketball started their four-game homestand with a big win over Old Dominion, the first in program history, before dropping their second game of the Sun Belt-Mid American challenge last week.

In the mid-week game, the Trojans played host to the Monarchs of Old Dominion for the first time in program history. In the game, Troy held on to get their first win, an 83-80 thriller, against the Monarchs in a budding rivalry.

The Virginia Beach, Virginia, native and former Old Dominion player, Brianna Jackson, was a force to reckon with as she led the Trojans with 19 points and 22 rebounds. The 22-rebound performance put her in a three-way tie for the second most rebounds in a game in Troy’s Division I history.

“Mo’s been on their team before, and a lot of emotion went into it.” said head coach Chanda Rigby about Brianna Jackson in an interview with Troy Athletics. “I thought she was going to be emotional, but she wasn’t.

“She was all business and all heart. She’s been playing very solid for us, but she’s more than a solid player.”

Fellow forward, Zay Dyer, matched Jackson in the scoring column as Dyer contributed 19 points with nine rebounds of her own. Guard Briana Peguero -- who had the biggest shot of the night off a circus shot and-1 with 22 seconds left -- added her own 15 points.

Another forward in Fortuna Ngnawo rounded out the Trojans in double figures as she finished with 10 points. Point guard Shaulana Wagner also returned to the court in limited minutes but still contributed five assists, five rebounds and two points.

The win pushed the Trojans to 7-0 in Trojan Arena on the season in a close back and forth game. The Trojans started strong, scoring seven points before a 16-0 Monarchs run put Troy in a hole early.

The Monarchs pushed the lead up to 21-9 before Troy went on a 17-5 run to tie it at 26 going into the end of the first quarter. The start of the second quarter saw the two teams go back and forth before Troy pushed the tempo again to hold a 46-36 lead going into halftime.

Out of the half, the Monarchs struck first, trimming the Trojan lead down to one point on two separate occasions. Troy would keep the lead for the whole quarter though, holding a five-point advantage heading into the final quarter.

Troy pushed the lead to six early in the final quarter before two Monarch three pointers tied the game at 65. For the majority of the quarter, the teams stayed tied.Then came Peguero’s shot.

With 22 seconds left, Peguero hit a running jumper in the defenders’ face in a shot that looked like an attempt to reset the shot clock. The shot, combined with the following free throw, gave the Trojans a five-point lead to effectively put the game out of reach.

The Monarchs got another three-pointer to cut the lead to two points before Peguero iced the game with a free throw with 10 seconds left. The Trojans would hold on to win 83-80 in a big win over Old Dominion.

In the second game of the week, the Trojans dropped the second leg of the SBC-MAC Challenge after losing to Kent State 84-73, moving Troy to 0-3 against the MAC for the season.

It was the birthday girl, Ngnawo, who led the way for the Trojans with 25 points, her career high and a tie for the highest scoring game for a Trojan this season. Guard Emani Jenkins followed that with 14 points of her own as Ashley Baez joined in with 11 points too.

Once again it was a slow start for Troy as Kent State came out swinging, taking a 21-9 lead. Troy started to get some momentum going, trailing 27-19 at the end of the first quarter.

The Trojans got within five points off an Emma Imevbore layup before Kent State pushed the lead back up 10. Troy once again clawed back to get the lead down to three points.

Kent State would respond well, extending the lead to 43-35 going into halftime. The Golden Flashes hot streak continued out of halftime, pushing the lead even more throughout the third quarter, taking a 66-52 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Troy got some offense going to start the fourth, cutting the Kent State lead to seven points. Ngnawo and Peguero and-1s cut the lead down to four as Golden Flashes led 71-67.

Kent State matched the momentum, quickly hitting a three to spark a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach for the Trojans. Troy would get four more points to make it a 10-point win for the Golden Flashes.

The loss snapped the Trojans undefeated streak at home, moving Troy to 7-1 in Trojan Arena for the 2024-25 season. The game also rounds out Troy’s nonconference slate, with the Trojans playing conference games for the rest of the season.

The non-conference loss doesn’t affect the Trojans too much, as Troy stays in a tie with Appalachian State for third in conference with a 9-3 record.

The Trojans stay at home for their next two games, playing host to ULM on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. before playing the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 15.