Trojans punch their ticket to the WNIT Great 8

by WAKA Action 8 News

 Ashley Baez hit two free throws with two-tenths of a second remaining in overtime to lift Troy past North Texas, 88-86, in the WNIT Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Trojan Arena.

Troy, which improved to 5-3 all-time in the WNIT, advances to the Great 8 for the second straight season, where the Trojans will take on North Dakota State on Monday at 7 p.m. (CT) in Fargo, N.D. A victory over the Bison would land Troy in the WNIT Fab 4 for a second straight season against the winner of Monday’s Illinois State and Louisiana Tech contest.

The Trojans (22-13) trailed by six, 86-80, with 2:06 remaining in overtime after a Kyla Deck 3-pointer. From that point on, Troy scored the game’s final eight points, including six from Briana Peguero, who hit a 3-pointer at the 1:52 mark and then an old-fashioned 3-point play with 23 seconds remaining.

North Texas (25-9), which finished second in the American Athletic Conference, missed a jumper with less than a second remaining in the extra period, with the score tied at 86-all. Baez pulled down the rebound and was fouled by Deck with 0.2 reading on the clock.

Baez, who hadn’t hit a bucket all game, calmly knocked down both free throws to send the fans in Trojan Arena into a frenzy.

Zay Dyer posted her 17^th double-double of the season, scoring 23 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to lead the Trojans. Her rebound tally pushed her season total to 363, a new Troy single-season record.

Shaulana Wagner added her second consecutive double-double and third of the season, with 17 points and 10 assists, while Peguro and Brianna Jackson finished with 14 points and Emani Jenkins added 10 points.

Jackson finished a block shy of Troy’s single-game record after swatting away eight North Texas attempts on the evening, as the Trojans blocked 12 shots as a team

The game needed the additional five minutes after the Mean Green rallied from down as many as nine in the second half and sixth in the fourth quarter.

A Peguero layup with 2:45 to play in the fourth gave Troy a 73-70 lead, but UNT answered with a Tommisha Lampkin bucket and a pair of Erauna Hardaway free throws to grab a 74-73 lead with 1:21 to play.

Jackson hit 1-of-2 from the line with 44 seconds to play, Deck followed by splitting a pair with 16 seconds remaining before Jenkins tied the game with two seconds remaining after she made one of her two attempts from the line.

Lampkin led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting, while Desiree Wooten added 21 points, Deck finished with 16 points and Hardaway had 12 for the Mean Green.

Troy overcame a rocky night taking care of the basketball, as the Trojans turned the ball over a season-high 30 times, the most by a Troy team since 38 in the 2016-17 season opener at Auburn and the most in a victory since ironically against North Texas in 2010, also 30 turnovers.

North Texas led by one at the break, 40-39, thanks to a 6-point advantage in the second quarter. However, Troy opened the second half on a 14-4 run to build a 53-44 advantage with 5:45 to play in the third; the Trojans carried a 64-59 lead into the final quarter.

(Press Release from Troy University)