The Troy women’s basketball team’s chance at redemption was lost after the Trojans fell behind early in the first half against Mercer in Macon, Georgia, on Thursday, March 19.
Troy was selected to be the No. 5 seed in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, but lost the game to No. 4 Mercer 83-68.
Mercer took the lead from the very beginning, and at 10:02 the Bears were dominating 25-4.
Despite the team being composed of eight freshmen and four seniors, Mercer proved a threat to the Trojans.
In the first half, while Troy was only making 28.6 percent of its three pointers, Mercer was scoring half of its attempts.
The Bears outshot the Trojans in field goals, three pointers and free throws. Troy only made four shots out of the 18 attempted behind the arc.
Seniors forward Ronita Garrett and guard Aissata Maiga led the team with 16 points each and Garrett was two boards away from a double-double.
Junior guard Ashley Beverly-Kelley was close behind with 14 points for the night.
By the end of the first half, Mercer was leading 42-25 and proceeded to tack on another 41 points, even though Troy came out with more strength in the second half.
Mercer’s senior guard Precious Bridges gathered 26 points during the night, outscoring the entire Trojan team’s efforts from the first half.
Teammate freshman guard Kahlia Lawrence had a double-double by making 10 rebounds and scoring 19 points.
Regardless of the early deficit, Troy fought back and closed the gap to 12 points with 6:54 to go in the second half.
Numerous successful Mercer free throws pushed the game out of the Trojans’ reach in the end.
Even though the women’s basketball season has now come to a close, the Trojans are still able to take pride in having a 20-win season, is the fourth in program history.
Also, earning the WBI seed meant Troy made its second postseason appearance in school history. Troy is currently the Sun Belt’s top-scoring team, making it the third straight year it has claimed this title.
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