Trojan Athletics

Amber Rivers and Kayla Robinson collected double-doubles while freshman Jasmine Robinson turned in a career performance as Troy held off Appalachian State, 81-74, in Trojan Arena on Monday snapping a four-game losing streak.

“A win is great right now,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “I really liked the way the team came out so aggressive. We cleared the bench in the first three minutes of the game, we wanted everyone to take part in this win and we didn’t want anyone getting cold on the bench.”

Both Rivers and Robinson scored in double figures for the second consecutive game as Robinson led all scorers with 21 points (9-17) and 10 assists for her first career double-double, while Rivers was in double-digits for the fourth straight game with 15 points (6-16) to go along with 10 rebounds. Rivers has now scored 10-plus points in 14 of 18 games this season.

 Sanders dropped 16 points and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers along the way. The Charlotte, N.C., native also had seven rebounds, two blocks and a pair of assists. Chelsey Gibson joined the double-digit club as well finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Trojans (8-10, 3-4 Sun Belt) led for 36:11 of the game but could never comfortably separate themselves from the Mountaineers (5-14, 3-5). Troy built its lead out to 11 points at 56-45 – its largest of the game – with 5:10 left in the third quarter, but Appalachian State used an 11-2 run to close the gap to just two near the end of the period.

After scoring 16 points in the second half against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Robinson picked up right where she left off turning in 11 in the opening quarter. The Trojans got off to a slow start in the second quarter making just one of their first eight shots and briefly falling behind before shooting 48 percent in the second half to keep the Mountaineers at arm’s length.

Despite allowing 42 points in the paint, Troy held App State in check from range allowing just one 3-pointer on 14 attempts in the game, the fewest since allowing one to Little Rock on March 12, 2014. Appalachian State missed on its first 11 attempts from deep and made its only 3-point basket with 9:15 left in the game.

Troy collected 52 rebounds in the game compared to just 38 by App State. The Trojans have recorded 50 or more rebounds eight times this season.

Troy hits the road to face ULM on Thursday and UL Lafayette on Saturday. The Trojans are 6-15 all-time against the Sun Belt foes in the state of Louisiana.