Led by Jennifer McInnis’ 23 points and Thea Herring’s 17 points and 14 rebounds, the Troy State women’s basketball team jumped out to a sizable first-half lead and survived a late rally to defeat the Alabama Wrath, 92-85, in an exhibition game on Monday night at Trojan Arena.

McInnis scored 18 of her points in the first half, when the Lady Trojans raced to a 13-0 lead in the first four minutes. Troy State led by as many as 22 points on three occasions and held a 54-37 advantage at the half thanks to a blistering performance from beyond the 3-point arc. Troy State hit 9-of-17 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, including four by McInnis.

In the second half, the Wrath used a sticky man-to-man defense to stifle the Lady Trojans’ outside shooting. The Birmingham team eventually cut the Troy State lead to 87-82 with less than two minutes to play, but could never get closer. Three free throws by Herring and freshman guard Kerri Fiehrer closed out the scoring, however, and sealed the win.

"I was pleased with our first-half performance," Troy State head coach Jerry Hester said. "I thought we shot the ball well and played with defensive intensity. We just seemed to lose it after we got the big lead. When they went to their man defense, we didn’t handle it very well. Overall, though, I was pleased with what I saw for this time of year.

"We were tested in a lot of areas by an experienced, physical team. It gives us something to go look at this week in practice."

The Wrath was led in scoring by Kristi Crawford’s 32 points and 13 rebounds. Crawford hit 8-of-16 shots, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range. The Wrath outrebounded the Lady Trojans, 54-53. Regina Stowes added 16 points, Regena Brown 15 and Shawnee Lenoir 13 for the Wrath. Former Troy State player Kira McWaine added six points and eight assists.

Troy State will play again on Nov. 18 in its season-opener against Chattanooga at Trojan Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.