Trojans Fall to Florida at Home on Wednesday

Wednesday, December 4

Troy, Ala.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

3-4

104

Florida

6-3

Florida

104

Troy

Photo by: Cass Davis

Trojans Fall to Florida at Home on Wednesday

12/4/2013 9:56:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy women's basketball team fell victim to an early run by Florida and couldn't recover in a 104-74 loss to the Gators at Trojan Arena on Wednesday night.

Florida was the second SEC team to visit Trojan Arena in as many years and used a 21-0 run in the first half to pull away early. Troy (3-4) led 11-8 four minutes into the game, but Florida scored 21 straight to take a 29-11 lead and never looked back.

Ashley Beverly-Kelley led the Trojans with 19 points and nine rebounds. Three others were in double-figure scoring, including Joanna Harden (12 points) who entered the game 4th in the nation in scoring, averaging 26.3 per game. Brooke Bowie recorded 13 points while Chant Lewis scored 10 off the bench.

"We came out strong and had control for first two or three minutes," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "We talked about competing before the game and we did that, but then we took a step back when Florida went on a run and we never recovered from it."

The Gators built the lead to 23 at halftime, but Troy seamed to be cutting into it when Chant Lewis made two layups in nine seconds to get the lead down to 16 at 63-47.

However, with the lead hovering around 20 for the Gators, Troy made just 4-of-21 shots down the stretch as Florida extended the lead.

The Gators were led by Jaterra Bonds and January Miller who each scored 22 points. Five Florida players scored in double figures, including a double-double from Christin Mercer who had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Kayla Lewis led all players with 15 rebounds.

In a game that featured 57 fouls, Florida took 43 trips to the free throw line. The Gators shot 81 percent in those trips, including a 24-of-26 showing in the second half. Troy, however, was just 12-of-25 from the free throw line.

The Trojans also struggled from deep, shooting just 15 percent (4-of-27) after entering the game leading the Sun Belt in 3-point shooting at 36.4 percent. Florida made 7-of-17 3-pointers in the first half and shot 36 percent for the game.

Troy returns to the floor on Sunday when Evansville visits Trojan Arena to close a four-game homestand.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyAthletics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.