Troy’s Ashley Baez splits the UAA defense. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The Troy Trojans flipped a switch in the second half Friday night to turn the lights out on the Seawolves.
The visiting NCAA Division I team from Alabama rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit to post a stunning 80-73 victory in overtime over the D2 hosts in the semifinals of the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout women’s basketball tournament.
Troy made 21-of-30 shots from the field after halftime (70%) and converted seven and-ones overall, including a four-point play by Briana Peguero that pulled the Trojans within 66-64 with 2:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
With 23 seconds left in regulation, Shaulana Wagner’s drive and free throw tied the game 67-67. Early in OT, Fortuna Ngnawo hit a layup through contact and added a free throw to give Troy its first lead of the night as the Trojans punched their ticket to Saturday’s Shootout championship game against North Dakota State, a 58-50 winner over Vermont in the other semifinal.
This was a stinging loss for the Seawolves, who were humming in the first half and built a 39-19 lead at the break. Newcomer Emilia Long of Port Angeles, Wash. sparked the fast start with nine points, four rebounds and four assists in the first 20 minutes.
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout
At Alaska Airlines Center
SATURDAY
6:15pm Third Place Game
UAA vs. Vermont
8:30pm Championship Game
Troy vs. North Dakota State
UAA controlled both ends of the court, amassing 12 assists on 15 field goals while forcing 15 turnovers and holding Troy to 25% shooting. You couldn’t have scripted a better first half.
And then the Trojans flipped the script.
“We came out on fire and they seemed flat in the first half,” said UAA coach Ryan McCarthy. “Unfortunately, the roles were reversed in the second half. Credit to Troy.”
UAA’s Jazzpher Evans rises up for a jumper. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Wagner led Troy with 20 points and was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Ngnawo added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Zay Dyer chipped in 14 points and eight boards.
Ngnawo got the party started in the third quarter, when the 6-foot senior showcased muscle and hustle by scoring 12 of her team’s 18 points in a five-minute span when Troy cut a 20-point deficit in half. Her strength in the post was too much as she bullied her way into scoring position.
UAA’s Elaina Mack knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 50-37 and a nice left-handed finish by Jazzpher Evans made it 54-41 as the Seawolves looked like they would settle in.
It never happened.
Mack couldn’t find her rhythm and finished with 11 points on 4-of-23 shooting. The Seawolves kept feeding their leading scorer, but the King Cove guard never got going and was uncharacteristically off the mark with two air balls.
UAA’s Emilia Long hits a runner off glass. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Long, the catalyst of UAA’s fabulous first half, cooled in the second half and finished with just two points after halftime as the team fired at a 31% clip down the stretch.
In need of energy, the Seawolves turned to Evans (14 points) and Tori Hollingshead (13 points, 6 rebounds).
Evans, a 5-foot-6 senior from Joliet, Ill., scored on some tough drives and hit a jumper to give UAA a 64-55 lead. She also hit two free throws to get her team within 75-71 in OT.
Hollingshead, a 6-foot-3 forward from Orem, Utah, provided some much-needed inside punch. She made 5-of-7 shots on offense and took a charge on defense. Her offensive rebound and putback got the Seawolves within 72-69 in OT.
UAA’s Tori Hollingshead hits the deck after taking a charge. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The Trojans of Troy were coming off a loss to seventh-ranked LSU; a week earlier, they lost to No. 24 Alabama. If they overlooked the Division II team, it showed early.
UAA raced out to a 9-0 lead and went ahead 18-5 after Kenzie Sirowich made a fastbreak layup on Long’s beautiful bounce pass. Long was a problem at the start after hitting a 3-pointer, scoring in transition and hitting a lovely left-handed runner as the Seawolves’ lead swelled to 22-10.
Back-to-back layups by Ashlyn Rean followed by a pair of free throws from Jaisa Gamble and a 3 from Mack pushed the lead to 33-14 as UAA threatened to run Troy out of the gym.
The saving grace for the Trojans in the first half was their rebounding as they held a 19-17 edge. They leaned into that advantage in the second half and won the battle of the boards 46-39 for the game, fueling 42 points in the paint and a 19-8 edge at the free-throw line.
Troy 7 12 30 18 13 – 80
UAA 18 21 19 9 6 – 73
TROY (AL) – Wagner 6-15 8-11 20, Ngnawo 7-13 4-5 18, Dyer 7-16 0-0 14, Baez 1-6 2-2 4, Morris 1-1 0-0 2, Peguero 2-9 5-5 10, Guion 3-4 0-0 9, Jenkins 1-1 0-0 3, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Imevbore 0-0 0-0 0, Roberson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 19-23 80.
UAA – Mack 4-23 0-0 11, Long 5-16 0-1 11, Rean 4-7 0-0 8, Gamble 3-3 2-2 8, Koehne 0-4 0-0 0, Evans 5-13 3-4 14, Hollingshead 5-7 3-6 13, Sirowich 3-5 0-0 6, Muranaka 1-2 0-0 2, Alexander 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-80 8-13 73.
3-point goals – Troy 5-16 (Guion 3-3, Jenkins 1-1, Peguero 1-6, Jones 0-1, Wagner 0-2, Baez 0-3), UAA 5-31 (Mack 3-20, Long 1-3, Evans 1-5, Rean 0-1, Sirowich 0-1, Muranaka 0-1). Rebounds – Troy 46 (Ngnawo 13), UAA 39 (Rean 8). Assists – Troy 14 (Wagner 3, Peguero 3), UAA 22 (Long 8). Steals – Troy 7 (Two with 2). UAA 15 (Hollingshead 4). Blocked shots – Troy 2 (Ngnawo, Dyer), UAA 1 (Rean). Total fouls – Troy 14, UAA 26. Fouled out – Long. A – 1,102.
Troy’s Brianna Jackson fights off a Seawolf for a rebound. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
North Dakota State 58, Vermont 50
Molly Lenz scored seven of her 15 points in the final five minutes to lead the Bison to a come-from-behind victory in the early Shootout semifinal.
Lenz scored on a tough drive to make put her team ahead 49-45 with 4:48 to play before hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final 25 seconds to ice the win.
Abby Krzewinski added 11 points for the Bison, who drained 7-of-10 free throws in the final 2:26.
North Dakota State finished 41.7% from the field, including a 10-of-12 mark in the third quarter. NDSU had eight different players reach the scoring column with 17 points coming from the bench.
North Dakota State’s Molly Lentz took over late Friday. Photo by Myles Johnson
North Dakota State used a 24-10 run in the third quarter to take control. Defense was the name of the game as the Bison held Vermont to 19 points in the second half, including just nine in the final 12:34.
Vermont got 13 points from both Anna Olson and Bella Vito, whose layup pushed her team’s advantage to 29-17 late in the second quarter.
The second half, however, was a different story for the Catamounts.
They made just 6-of-23 field goals in the second half and turned the ball over four times on its final 13 possessions.
