Troy Women Set for Sun Belt Leader Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Arkansas – The Troy women's basketball continues arguably its toughest road trip on Saturday at Sun Belt leader Arkansas State. The Trojans and Red Wolves are set to tip off at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center on ESPN3.

Links to the ESPN3 broadcast, Troy's audio broadcast and live stats can all be found on TroyTrojans.com. Fans in Troy can hear the game on WTBF 94.7 FM. Live, in-game updates can also be found on Twitter by following @TroyTrojansWBB

Troy (10-10, 5-6) is coming off of a tough, 79-64, loss at Little Rock on Thursday. Troy led by 12 points at halftime, but shot just 26 percent in the second half while Little Rock shot 53 percent and handed Troy its fifth straight loss.

Little Rock had allowed 32 and 36 points in the entirety of its last two games, but Troy scored 40 in the first half alone to lead, 40-28. Little Rock capped the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take a lead that Troy never got back. In all, Troy was outscored in the second half by 27 points, 51-24.

After a 5-1 start to conference play, Troy is now 5-6 and in a tie for fifth place in the jumbled Sun Belt standings. The Trojans are just a half game out of fourth place, two games back of third and three games away from second place.

Ashley Beverly Kelley led Troy at Little Rock with 21 points, her second straight game with 20-plus. She is still the Sun Belt's leading scorer in all games at 19.2 per game and in Sun Belt games at 19.7 per game. Beverly Kelley has scored in double figures in 18 games and scored over 20 in 11 games this season, doing so 82 and 35 times in her career, respectively.

Beverly Kelley has 1,699 career points, the most among all active Sun Belt players. Her 236 career steals are also the most among active players and the 20th most in the Sun Belt's 30-plus year history. She is just three steals away from moving into a tie for 15^th place.

ArJae' Saunders also scored in double figures at Little Rock with 13 points, her fifth game in the last seven in double figures. Over that stretch Saunders is averaging 12.0 points per game.

As a team, Troy is still fifth in the NCAA and first in the Sun Belt in scoring at 82.4 points per game. The Trojans also remain fifth in the NCAA as they force 23.4 turnovers per game.

Arkansas State (17-3, 11-0) comes into Saturday atop the Sun Belt standings and has won 11 straight games. The Red Wolves, who start five seniors, are coming off of a 58-51 win over South Alabama on Thursday, their 21st straight win at the Convocation Center. Arkansas State shot just 28 percent, but forced South Alabama into 24 turnovers.

The Red Wolves lead the Sun Belt, turning the ball over just 13.4 times with a +6.95 turnover margin. They are led by two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year Aundrea Gamble who averages 17.9 points per game, second in the Sun Belt only to Beverly Kelley. Khadija Brown-Haywood ranks fourth in the Sun Belt at 15.9 points and first with 9.5 rebounds per game.

Arkansas State's current winning streak started with a 101-81 win at Trojan Arena back on December 30. Troy led that game after one quarter, but got outscored 24-10 in the second quarter and never recovered.

The Red Wolves lead the all-time series against Troy, 12-4, including a 5-1 mark in Jonesboro. Troy has lost four straight at the Convocation Center since its lone win in 2010.

A win over Arkansas State on Saturday would mark the fourth straight season that Troy has beat the Sun Belt leader in February, a streak that started at Middle Tennessee in 2013, Chanda Rigby's first season at Troy.

Following Saturday's game, the Trojans will return home to host Georgia Southern and Georgia State next week. Thursday's game against Georgia Southern will mark Greek Night at Trojan Arena, while next Saturday's game against Georgia State will be Troy's annual Play 4Kay game.c

For more information on Troy women's basketball, follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyTrojansWBB.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Beverly Kelley

ArJae' Saunders