Troy Looks for Third Straight Win, Travels to South Alabama

TROY, Alabama – Fresh off two home wins last week, the Troy women's basketball team hits the road to take on rival South Alabama at the Mitchell Center on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

Troy (12-11, 7-7) and South Alabama (11-12, 7-7) come in tied for fifth the Sun Belt standings, just a half game out of fourth place and two games out of third. They are both coming off wins over Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

Links to live stats, live video and a free live audio broadcast can all be found at TroyTrojans.com. Fans in Troy can hear the game on WTBF 94.7 FM. For live, in-game updates, follow @TroyTrojansWBB on Twitter.

Troy most recently beat Georgia State, 89-78, at Trojan Arena on Saturday in its annual Play 4Kay game. Troy made 11 3-pointers, including five in the first quarter, as it led the entire game. The 11 long balls were one shy of the team's season-high of 12, which it set in Thursday's 84-68 win over Georgia Southern.

ArJae' Saunders led the 3-point barrage in both games, connecting on 6-of-8 against Georgia Southern and 4-of-10 against Georgia State. The junior guard scored 26 and 23 points, respectively, and has scored 20-plus in three straight games. She is now averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the Sun Belt, and Troy, in 3-point percentage at 47.6 percent.

Ashley Beverly Kelley has scored 20-plus in five straight games, upping her season totals to 20.3 points per game overall and 21.6 per Sun Belt game, both tops in the conference. She scored 29 in Saturday's win over Georgia State, including 14 in the fourth quarter.

Beverly Kelley's career total is up to 1,784 points, just 11 away from becoming the second most in school history. She ranks 22nd in Sun Belt history in scoring and is just 20 points from cracking the top 20. Her 243 career steals are tops in Troy history and 13th in Sun Belt history.

Beverly Kelley pulled down seven rebounds in Saturday's win, just behind Saunders and Kristen Emerson who each had eight to lead Troy to a 52-37 rebounding advantage over GSU.

Troy has scored 80 points in 14 games, including each of the last three, and is averaging 82.7 per game, ranking sixth in the NCAA and first in the Sun Belt for the fourth straight season.

South Alabama beat Georgia Southern on Saturday, 48-45, after trailing much of the game. The Jaguars held the Eagles to 5-of-25 shooting in the second half to grab the win.

South Alabama is playing its best basketball in its three seasons under head coach Terry Fowler, having won five of its last seven overall, and four straight at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars lead the Sun Belt in field goal and 3-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 35.3 percent overall and 27.6 percent from deep. Those are aided by the Jags' 6.0 blocks per game, also tops in the conference.

Marquita Daniels leads the Jaguars in scoring at 11.0 points per game. Chyna Ellis is fourth in the Sun Belt with 7.4 rebounds per game and first with 2.8 blocks per game, nearly double the league's second best shot blocker.

Troy is 18-20 all-time against South Alabama after losing this season's first meeting, 75-71, at Trojan Arena in late January. That loss snapped a five-game winning streak by Troy in the series. Troy is 6-12 all-time in Mobile, but just 2-8 in the Mitchell Center with those wins coming in the last two seasons.

Following Tuesday's game, Troy will be the lone Sun Belt team not in action on Thursday. The Trojans will use the extra rest ahead of a long road trip to Appalachian State for a Saturday contest against the Mountaineers that will air on ESPN3 at 12 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Beverly Kelley

Kristen Emerson

ArJae' Saunders