Ring in the New Year Sunday Afternoon with Troy Basketball

Troy Game Notes | Florida Atlantic Game Notes | Live Audio | Live Stats | Live Video

TROY, Ala. – A rivalry that began long before the two schools joined the Sun Belt Conference will begin again on Sunday as Troy and Florida Atlantic ring in the New Year at Sartain Hall in Sun Belt Conference action. The game will tip at 4:07 pm due to television, and free admission is being given to all those in attendance with a church bulletin.

The game will be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network and can be seen on CSS and CST, with Lynn Rollins and Debbie Leonard providing the action. Check with your local cable provider for listings and availability in your area.

Florida Atlantic leads the all-time series 13-11 overall, including winning the last two games that were played last season. However, the Trojans lead the series in Troy 7-5. Each team has won eight consecutive games in the series, with the last being owned by the Trojans that was broken last season in Boca Raton by Florida Atlantic.

Troy (3-11, 0-1 Sun Belt) ended a five-game losing streak on Thursday as they defeated Mississippi Valley State 62-56 in the consolation game of the GSU Invitational in Atlanta. The streak was the longest of the season for the Trojans, who also lost their first four games of the season. The Trojans are 2-3 this season at Sartain Hall with wins over Belhaven and Birmingham-Southern, and are 282-152 all-time at home and are 63-42 all-time under current head coach Michael Murphy.

Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic (3-9, 0-1 Sun Belt) enter the game off an 83-63 road loss earlier this week in their Sun Belt Conference opener to ULM. The Owls have lost three consecutive games, as well as losing six of their last seven games. They have not won since defeating Georgia Southern on December 12, and are 0-7 on the road this season. Florida Atlantic coach Chancellor Dugan is one win away from career win 300 (including Division II) in her coaching career.

The Trojans are led by junior DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) at 13.6 points per game, while she is shooting 42.2 (78-for-185) percent from the floor on the season. She is also shooting 34.2 (13-for-38) percent from beyond the arc, which places her among the best in the Sun Belt Conference.

Meanwhile, senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) is averaging 13.1 points per game, and is third in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding at 9.4 rebounds per game. She has also scored 898 career points and grabbed 649 career rebounds at Troy. The totals have among the best in the school in the Division I era, including third all-time in rebounding.

Sophomore Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) is among the best in the Sun Belt Conference this season in assists and assist/turnover ratio. The sophomore point guard is 11th overall in the conference in assists (3.5 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0). She is also making a move at the top 10 in school history in three-point field goals made (50) and assists (125).

Florida Atlantic is led by Lyrell Barfield, who has only played eight games, at 11.8 points per game. She is the team's leading scorer and leads the team in minutes played per game (28.5). The senior scored a season-high 20 points against Georgia Southern, including the game-winner, in the Owls' last victory (December 12).

Junior Breanna Turner is second on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game, and she has scored 54 total points in the last three games. Meanwhile, junior Vontrice Dennis is averaging a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game, and has three double-doubles on the season.

The game can be heard on WTBF-94.7 FM beginning at 3:45 pm with the pregame show. Buddy Johnson will provide all of the play-by-play action on the flagship station of Troy University Athletics. Live statistics and live video will also be provided on TroyTrojans.com.

For all the latest news on Troy University Athletics, follow us on Twitter at /TroyAthletics and become a fan on Facebook.

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Ring in the New Year Sunday Afternoon with Troy Basketball

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