TROY, Ala. – Tiyah Johnson scored a game-high 21 points on Thursday to lead four Troy players in double figures as the Trojans claimed an 85-45 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball win over the University of South Alabama at Trojan Arena.

Alexus Dye recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds, Tyasia Moore had 14 and Felmas Koranga added 10 as the Trojans improved to 13-5, 9-2 in the Sun Belt.

Jaylen Mallard led the Jaguars (11-8, 8-5 SBC) with 12 points and six rebounds, while Janelle Jones finished with 11 points.  Savannah Jones recorded team-high totals with nine rebounds and four assists, and Antoinette Lewis posted nine points and six boards.

Troy 85, South Alabama 45 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-The Jaguars shot 22.2 percent, making just 4-of-18 attempts, and were down 18-10 after the first 10 minutes.
-Troy connected on 50 percent from the field in the opening half to take a 35-23 lead at the half.
-The Trojans hit 12-of-20 from the floor and limited USA to just 17.6 percent in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 61-32 at the end of the period.
-Troy finished the contest with a 52.2 field-goal percentage while the Jaguars shot 21.9 percent overall.
-The Trojans outscored South 48-18 in the paint and turned 20 Jaguar turnovers into 21 points on the other end of the floor.

NOTES
-The loss ended South's season-high-tying three-game win streak.
-The Trojans have claimed the last three match-ups between the two programs dating back to last season, the first time either has won than two in a row since 2016-17.
-It was Troy's fifth straight win in the series at Trojan Arena.
-Mallard has now scored in double figures in two of the last four outings after achieving the feat twice in South's first 15 contests this year.
-It was the first time in her career that the sophomore forward has paced the Jags in the scoring column.
-Janelle Jones reached double figures in scoring for the first time at the collegiate level with the effort, also finishing the night with a career-best four rebounds and career-high-tying two assists.
-Coming into play the freshman had scored six points in eight appearances in league play.
-It marked the second straight contest — and third in the last four games — that Savannah Jones has led or shared-team high honors on the glass.
-She equaled a season high in assists as well after pacing USA in the category for the second occasion in the last four outings.
-With Jayla Morrow was unavailable for the Jaguars in this game — she is expected to be back with the team on Saturday — Casey Ferguson made her first start of the season.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
On Thursday's game: "Tonight was just one of those nights, it was tough.  We just couldn't get the ball to go in the basket.  I thought they played at a faster pace than we did, they were more physical and played through the bumps.  We had 73 shot attempts, but were not putting the ball in the basket.  They were able to take it and score in transition, they got in the paint and attacked us inside.  They had a really good shooting night as well."
On facing the Trojans again on Saturday: "In order to come back and be successful on Saturday we're going to have to correct those things.  We're going to have to be able to put the ball in the basket and slow them down a little bit on the break.  We're going to have to do a better job of guarding the basketball in transition and in the half court; they were just able to penetrate and get in the paint, when we helped they were able to dish it off or kick it out.  Those are the two main areas we're going to have to focus on.  We'll see them again in less than 48 hours so we'll have to be ready to go."

Up next: The Jaguars and Trojans will meet again at the Mitchell Center on Saturday, with the contest set to get underway at 4 p.m. (CST).

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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