TROY, Ala. - Troy took advantage of a late first half run to provide
enough cushion to take a 62-39 victory over the University of New
Orleans on Saturday afternoon at Trojan Arena.
Donette McNair had 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace Troy (6-2, 1-0 Sun Belt). Freshman Sophie Kleeman added 14 points, including 11 in the first half after connecting on 4 of 6 attempts from beyond arc.
The top defense in the league, the Trojans held UNO to 25.9 percent shooting from the field and a 23.8 clip from beyond the arc.
UNO (6-6, 0-2 Sun Belt) fell for the fourth time in their last five games while failing to surpass 40 points for a school-record third straight game.
Brittany Helm narrowly missed her first career double-double by leading the Lady Privateers with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Candice McGee added seven rebounds and first-time starter
Rachele Monroe chipped in seven points.
Clinging to a 22-19 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the opening half, Troy began to click offensively.
The Trojans connected on three shots from beyond the arc in the final 3:30 of the opening half with a lay-up just before the buzzer for good measure to take a 34-19 advantage into the break. Kleeman had two of the three-pointers, rounding out a perfect 3 for 3 first half from distance.
UNO had trailed 22-15 before scoring four points in a row to get within three.
As they had done in their previous trip to Trojan Arena, the Lady Privateers came to life after the break. The squad worked the lead down to eight by scoring 7 of 9 points contested to start the second 20 minutes.
The scoring burst by UNO would be short-lived as Troy responded by pushing the lead back to 15 and keeping the visiting squad from being able to mount the necessary run to get back into the contest.
The Lady Privateers will face Drake on Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa at 5:30 p.m. The contest, which serves as a homecoming for UNO seniors
Ashley Gorsh and Monroe, will be made available on UNO Vision.
