TROY, Ala. - Three big plays will be remembered as game-changers Saturday night at Trojan Arena.

Following a media timeout, junior Alyce Shearing was forced to pick her dribble up 25 feet away from the basket. She looked around for an open teammate, not finding out, she drained a 3-pointer to give the Trojans a two-point lead with 4:06 to play.

Senior Kylie Morrissy, playing in her final home game, took an inbounds pass and dribbled up the floor against South Alabama’s Tashley Gaines. After zig-zagging her way through the backcourt, she went behind her back against Gaines and drove straight to the basket to give Troy a four-point lead with 1:04 to play in the contest.

Defensively, Morrissy made the biggest defensive play of the night when tipped a pass intended for a wide-open Morriah Smith. After the ball was tipped, South Alabama missed a 3-pointer and the Trojans were able to extend their lead to five with 40 seconds to play.

All three of those plays down the stretch enabled Troy to defeat in-state and Sun Belt Conference rival, South Alabama, 66-63 Saturday night at Trojan Arena.

"When you lose one game in the last 30 to 35 days, that is a heck of an accomplishment," Troy coach Michael Murphy said.  "I don't care what sport you're playing."

The victory was the first over the Lady Jags since Troy (15-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) joined the Sun Belt Conference. It is the fifth time this season that the Trojans have recorded a victory over a school for the first time or win at their arena for the first time this season.

Morrissy led the way for Troy with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor, after playing just 10 minutes in the first half. Shearing added 13 points and six rebounds; while Donette McNair added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

"We've had seven career highs from five different players down the stretch," Murphy said.  "That's incredible and shows a lot of maturity on the part of this team."

South Alabama (19-10, 10-8 Sun Belt) was led by Shakira Nettles with 19 points, while Jessica Starling added. Ra’Shawna Sippio posted a double-double for the Lady Jags with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The two teams battled throughout the first half, with 13 lead changes and no team holding more than six-point lead (Troy in the first five minutes).

The second half was no different, with South Alabama opening the second half on a 10-2 run to open a 42-37 lead with 15:54 to play in the contest.

The Trojans would fight back 45-44 lead, and then extend the lead to 50-45 on a Morrissy jumper with 9:45 to play in the contest. South Alabama answered with baskets from Starling and Nettles, as well as a 3-pointer from Sarda Peterson to trim the lead to 54-52 with 7:12 to play in the game.

South Alabama took their final lead of the game at 57-56 with a Nettles lay-up with just 4:41 to play in the contest. After that basket by Nettles, Troy pulled away for a four-point advantage on the Shearing 3-pointer and lay-up by Larelle Roper with just 2:30 to play - setting the stage for two of the biggest plays in the game by the Trojans by Morrissy.

After South Alabama trimmed the lead to 66-63 with just six second remaining, the Lady Jags called a timeout to set up the pressure. However, Brittnie Davis caught the South Alabama defense off-balance and drove past half-court before throwing the ball down low to McNair as the horn went off for the Trojan victory.

Troy shot 46.3 (25-of-54) percent from the floor after the slow start, and 31.3 (5-of-16) percent from beyond the arc. The Trojans came up big from the free throw line, knocking down 73.3 (11-of-15) percent from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, South Alabama shot 42.1 (24-of-57) percent from the floor, just 23.1 (6-of-26) percent from beyond the arc and 52.9 (9-of-17) percent from the free throw line.

Troy won the rebounding battle over the Lady Jags, 35-32.

The Trojans closed out the month of February by winning their final four games and six of their last seven.

"We knew we could play better," Davis said  "It’s just at the middle of the season we weren’t playing well, but we always knew we could play like this."

Troy returns to action Wednesday night at home in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Their opponent will not be determined until after the remaining games of the week are complete on Sunday night. The game will tip at 7 pm and can be heard on WTBF-94.7 FM.