Lunch pale and a hard hat.

That was the slogan this week at practice for the Troy Trojans women’s basketball team as they prepared for Arkansas State at Trojan Arena.

“We were really down on ourselves after that Denver game,” Troy coach Michael Murphy said. “But I have to give the girls credit, they came out and worked hard the last two days at practice. Those were probably the best practices we have had all season, and it paid off down the stretch. They came to practice with a lunch pale and hard hat, and ready to work this week.”

The hard work paid off as the Trojans were able to come back from a second-half deficit and pull off a key Sun Belt Conference victory, 74-69, over Arkansas State Wednesday night.

“This was a very big win for the Trojans,” Murphy said.

Junior forward Alyce Shearing and senior guard Brittnie Davis epitomized the work ethic of the entire team Wednesday night.

Shearing paced four players in double figures for the Trojans with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. She was joined in double figures by Donette McNair with 16 points and five rebounds, Kylie Morrissy with 14 points and Davis with 10 in the victory.

“When we needed someone to step and make plays Alyce wanted the ball,” Murphy said.

Trailing 67-65 with 1:48 to play in the contest, Shearing took a pass from McNair and drained a long 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Trojans a 68-67 victory.

fter a Shania Hurst jumper gave Arkansas State a 69-68 lead, the stage was set for Davis.

Morrissy found an open Davis in the left corner, just in front of her team’s bench. Davis knocked down the 3-pointer to give Troy a 71-69 lead and send the crowd into a frenzy with just 41 seconds remaining.

The Trojans (10-12, 5-7 Sun Belt) hit three-of-four free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

The Trojans return to action Saturday on the road against Florida Atlantic University. Tip is set for 4 p.m. at FAU Arena.