Trojans Fall to ULM at SBC Championships

Saturday, March 5

Hot Springs, AR

2:15 p.m.

Troy University

(W3) University of Louisiana at Monroe

Photo by: Sun Belt Conference

3/5/2011 5:27:30 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

Tenia Manuel posts double-double in loss, Jamesha Blake injured in opening minutes

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – One by one, the players exited the locker room exhausted. Some carrying ice bags, some wiping away the sweat and others just too tired to carry anything.

That is the kind of year it was for the Troy University women's basketball team this year, as they were hit by injuries in the preseason that dwindled their numbers to single digits. It was the kind of year where the Trojans dressed just nine players for the last 29 games of the season, with most seeing 30 or more minutes per game in each of those games.

“It isn't games where you miss the bodies,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “It is in practice where you miss them. You have kids playing 30, 35, 40 minutes a game; then you ask them to go 120 minutes in practice. With nine players, you can't have someone sit out, so the kids had to go hard every day of the season. I commend them on what they did this season, not many teams ever have to go through that.”

The season came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Trojans fell to West Division third seed ULM 60-51 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championships at Summit Arena.

This season, the Trojans lost two of their top players returning from last year before the season even got started as they were unable to return from surgery. Then, in the season-opener, they lost Kirsten Smith (Pensacola, Fla./Washington HS) to a concussion against Stony Brook.

The rash of bad luck this season continued for the Trojans in the opening minutes of the contest as sophomore Jamesha Blake (Atlanta, Ga./SW DeKalb HS) went down after crossing center court with the basketball; she did not return to the contest.

With Blake out of action, the Trojans found themselves in a battle; looking to become this year's Cinderella story of the conference tournament. They traded the lead with ULM four times in the first half, and tied the game another five times. Throughout the game, they traded the lead with the Warhawks eight times and tied it another seven.

Tenia Manuel (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg HS) posted a double-double on the night as she scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds; while DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) posted 16 points in the loss. Senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) finished the contest with eight points and 11 rebounds.

The senior finished her career with 1,138 points and 767 rebounds. She also finished with her career with 126 steals and 64 blocked shots.

The Trojans trailed by just four at 47-43 with 4:48 to play in the contest, before ULM was able to knock down free throws down the stretch to finish off the victory.

Prior to the contest, the Sun Belt Conference recognized the academic and athletic accomplishments of the student-athletes in this year's tournament. The Trojans had three honorees including Brittnie Davis, Alyce Shearing on the Commissioner's List; while Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) was honored for making the All-Academic list.

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