Troy women win second straight conference title

Sports – The Tropolitan
(CONTRIBUTED/ Brad Kemp)Head Coach Chanda Rigby's Trojans won their second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship, defeating Louisiana 78-64 in Lakefront Arena on Sunday night. As a result of the win, Troy will automatically receive an invite to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year as well.


Scott Watkins
Staff Writer
The Troy Trojan women’s basketball team are Sun Belt Champions for the second consecutive year and will be making a return trip to the big dance after taking down Louisiana 78-64.
Troy’s championship journey in New Orleans opened with a record-breaking 105-72 win over Arkansas State in which the Trojans grabbed a Sun Belt-record 86 rebounds. Troy then got its revenge over Texas-Arlington with a dominant 88-59 victory to advance to the championship game.
The title game was a defensive battle from the start. It took just over three minutes for Troy to get on the board before senior Claresa Banks knocked down a free throw.
A moment later, Banks hit a three to give the Trojans their first lead of the game. After falling behind 12-9 near the end of the quarter, Banks hit another three to tie the game.
The two teams then traded free throws and Troy entered the second quarter with a 14-13 lead. Banks had nine points in the quarter and finished with 14 for the game.
Troy jumped out of the gate in the second with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 20-13. All-Sun Belt first team selection Caitlyn Ramirez found herself in foul trouble early and had to be benched for 13 minutes in the first half, including the entire second quarter.
Senior forward Kristen Emerson stepped up in Ramirez’s absence, registering two points and four rebounds in six minutes during the second quarter.
The Trojans maintained their lead throughout the quarter while holding the Ragin’ Cajuns to 21 percent ...


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