TROY, Ala. - Troy finished the first half on a 14-1 run and cruised to a 100-77 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over visiting Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday afternoon at Trojan Arena.
The Trojans improved to 13-8 overall and 8-2 in the Sun Belt, maintaining a share of the league lead, while Georgia Southern (13-6, 5-5 SBC) saw its six game road win streak come to a close.
Taya Gibson got the Eagles started off on the right foot by scoring Georgia Southern's first nine points and the visitors led by one, 23-21, at the end of the first period. Halfway through the second quarter, a bucket from Gibson staked the Eagles to a four-point lead, 31-27, but that's when Troy would embark on a 14-0 run to take a nine-point lead into halftime, 41-32.
In the second half, an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter would push the Troy lead to 20 and put the game away.
Troy forced 26 turnovers by the Eagles and converted those into 22 points, and the nation's top rebounding team got 31 offensive rebounds and 59 total in the contest.
Gibson led the Eagles with a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Le'Andrea Gillis added a season-high 20 points off the bench. Five Trojans reached double figures on the day, led by Ja'Mia Hollings' double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Makayia Hallman added 19 as well.
Eagle of the Game
Taya Gibson registered her third career double-double by setting new career highs in points and rebounds, surpassing the 19 points she had against Georgia State in the 2022 Sun Belt Tournament and the 10 rebounds she had three times previously. She hit 10-of-14 shots from the floor, including hitting one three pointer.
Stat of the Game
The 100 points given up by the Eagles are the most against a Sun Belt opponent since UT Arlington defeated Georgia Southern by a 101-73 score on February 29, 2020.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the game against the Trojans
"We didn't come to play today. And you can't do that when you're playing against the No. 1 team in the Sun Belt. Try did what we thought they would do. They pushed the tempo and were phenomenal rebounding the ball. I thought we started strong, but we just couldn't maintain it."
Next Up
Georgia Southern returns home to Hanner to host Georgia State in a 6 p.m. Sun Belt contest on Thursday. It will be a White Out game as well as Women and Girls in Sports Day.
