Troy women’s basketball swept Texas State in 2025 with an 86-66 thrashing of the Bobcats in Trojan Arena Wednesday night before losing a heartbreaker to Arkansas State, 89-85, at home on Friday night.
The win over the Bobcats also marked coach Chanda Rigby’s 250th win as a Trojan, only the second coach in program history to do so.
“All glory to God for the success that we’ve had here in terms of securing a top-three seed and gaining 250 wins,” said Rigby in an interview with Troy Athletics. “I’m just grateful to Troy for allowing me to stick around this long and for the staff and players I’ve had over the years.”
The Trojans started out slow Wednesday night but eventually got the offense going with five Trojans scoring in double digits. Emani Jenkins led the way off the bench with 15 points, while Zay Dyer followed behind her with 14 points and nine rebounds, one rebound short of another double-double.
Three more starters rounded out the double-digit efforts with Brianna Jackson and Shaulana Wagner both contributing 12 points, while Briana Peguero added 11 points of her own. Emma Imevbore just missed out on a double-double as she poured in eight points and 10 rebounds while Wagner came shy of her own double-double as she also pulled in nine rebounds to go with her 12 points.
It was a back-and-forth affair initially with the Trojans and Bobcats trading leads and runs throughout the first quarter. Troy eventually ended the quarter up 20-17. The second quarter saw more consistency from both teams, as the Trojans kept Texas State just out of striking distance to take a 36-30 lead into the halftime break.
The Bobcats came out of the half clicking, cutting the Trojan lead down to a one-point deficit twice in the quarter. A 12-1 Troy run in the middle of the quarter would help stave off the Bobcats with Troy holding a 57-49 lead into the final quarter.
The closest Texas State could get in the fourth quarter was within eight points, with a 9-0 Trojan run putting the game out of reach. Troy would eventually hold on to take a 20-point win, 86-66, to sweep the season series against the Bobcats.
For Friday night's game, it was a highly anticipated rematch between Troy and the Arkansas State Red Wolves as the two teams played for the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The game would live up to the hype with the Trojans giving a fight before eventually falling 89-85 to the Red Wolves.
The forward duo of Dyer and Jackson lit up the score sheet with Dyer scoring 22 points while hauling in nine rebounds and swatting four shots. Jackson followed close behind with her own 20 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
The six-block performance from Jackson means the Virginia Beach, Virginia, native started and ended the regular season with two separate six-block games, both a career high for the senior.
The guard duo of Peguero and Leilani Guion also came to play, as Peguero put 17 points on the board and Guion contributed 10 points to the tally.
The Red Wolves meant business in Trojan Arena, as Arkansas State started out red hot, outscoring the Trojans 31-16 in the first quarter while shooting 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
Troy fired back in the second quarter with a 31-point outing of their own, including an 18-3 run to take a 44-42-point lead late in the quarter. Arkansas State wouldn’t be deterred though, using a 10-3 run of their own to hold a 52-47 lead into the break.
The Red Wolves came out the halftime break similarly to the start of the game, extending their lead to as high as 16 points in the third quarter, 75-59, before the Trojans started to chop into the deficit.
Arkansas State went into the final quarter holding a 75-64 lead, quickly expanding it to 77-64 early in the quarter. The Trojans would find their footing over the next three minutes as they cut the lead down to one off a 12-0 run.
From there the Trojans and Red Wolves would battle back and forth, with Troy cutting the lead down to one on three separate occasions. Arkansas State would keep its composure and iced the game on a deep 3-pointer with seven seconds left, effectively ending the Trojans comeback hopes.
Troy would drop the game 89-85 to Arkansas State, meaning the Trojans will have to settle for the third seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The last time the Trojans held the No. 3 seed was 2019 with the time before that being 2017, the second of back-to-back conference tournament championships for the Trojans.
Troy women’s basketball takes the court on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 2:30 p.m. in Pensacola, Florida. With the introduction of a new tournament style this year in the Sun Belt, Troy’s opponent is yet to be determined with the Trojans potentially facing five different teams.
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