By Kiesly Jameson
4 5 2025
GAME NOTES
https://troytrojans.com/documents/2025/4/4/2024-25_Game_Notes__WNIT_.pdf
BUFFALO, N.Y. – One hundred and fifty-one days ago, Troy women’s basketball began its 2024-25 campaign in Alumni Arena against Buffalo. Now, 37 games later, the Trojans will finish where they started as they compete for the WNIT Championship on Saturday, April 5 at 4 p.m. against the Bulls.
Saturday’s championship will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as the Trojans (24-13) make their first national postseason championship appearance, facing the Bulls (29-7), who matched up in the season opener on Nov. 4.
Game Information
Location: Buffalo, N.Y. – Alumni Arena
The Matchup: Troy (24-13, 13-5 SBC) vs. Buffalo (29-7, 13-5 MAC)
When: Saturday, April 5 – 4 p.m.
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Poised for a Title
Troy battled through two road games, two overtime matchups, and a hard-fought second-round matchup in Trojan Arena to eliminate Chattanooga, North Texas, North Dakota State and Illinois State and reach the title game. In their last win at Illinois State, the Trojans erupted from behind the arc with 13 triples – five came from Emani Jenkins and six by Briana Peguero.
The WNIT run has seen the Troy offense explode in all facets, scoring 92.3 points per game on 47 percent shooting. The Trojans have also dominated the rebound battle with 47.8 boards per game. They’ve also limited the opposition to 33.8 rebounds to hold a plus-14 rebound margin. Five Trojans posted double-figures, led by Peguero with 18 points on 46.9 percent shooting on the floor and 42.3 percent from behind the arc – she scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games.
Zay Dyer sits second in scoring on the WNIT run, nearly averaging a double-double with 17 points and 9.5 rebounds. She’s scored in double-figures all four WNIT games to extend her streak to 12. Fortuna Ngnawo shot 53.7 percent from the field to have 12.8 points with nine rebounds – she’s second for Troy in rebounds. Shaulana Wagner and Brianna Jackson finish out the five Trojans in double figures with 12.5 apiece. Jackson scored 10-plus points in five straight games, while Wagner averaged eight assists over the WNIT run.
The last these programs met, Peguero put on a show from deep, going 5-of-7 from the 3-point line for a team-high 15 points. Ashley Baez (14), Wagner (13), Ngnawo (11) and Dyer (11) also ended with double-digit points. Jackson contributed on the defensive end with six blocks in her Troy debut. Despite the loss, Troy outshot Buffalo 42.3 to 35.4 and won the tight battle on the boards 51-45.
Rematch
The Trojans and Bulls met in their season openers, with Buffalo coming out on top in an 80-78 thriller that saw a 28-point performance from Chellia Watson. The Bulls finished the MAC as the No. 3 seed with a 13-5 record before falling to No. 2 Toledo in the semifinal round, 56-49. Buffalo plays with three All-MAC members, as Watson led on the first team, followed by Kirsten Lewis-Williams on the second team. Noelani Cornfield was also named on the All-Defensive team.
After surviving UMass in the second round via overtime, 84-82, Buffalo rolled through Southern Indiana, 76-64, Rutgers, 71-64, and Cleveland State, 74-69, to punch a ticket into the program’s second-ever game in April. Watson has led the charge with 22.8 points on 42.1 percent shooting while dishing off 4.3 assists and seizing 4.5 rebounds.
Championship Numbers
• Troy opened 2024-25 in Alumni Arena against Buffalo in the SBC-MAC Challenge, falling 80-78. Despite the loss, five Trojans ended in double-figures: Peguero (15), Baez (14), Wagner (13), Dyer (11) and Ngnawo (11) – Jackson also rejected six shots.
• In the last meeting between Troy and Buffalo, the Trojans made 10 triples and shot 42 percent from the field while limiting the Bulls to 35.4 percent.
• The WNIT championship game marks the Troy women’s basketball program’s first-ever postseason championship game.
• Single-Season Records to Watch:Emani Jenkins – total triples (tied for fourth in D-I, tied for fifth overall – 65) | Briana Peguero – free throw percentage (third in D-I and overall – 87.0) | Zay Dyer – total rebounds (third overall, first in D-I – 372), average rebounds (sixth in D-I – 10.2), field goals made (fifth in D-I, one from 10th overall – 215), points (eighth in D-I – 511) | Shaulana Wagner – total assists (third in D-I and overall – 195), average assists (third in D-I, fifth overall – 6.7) | Brianna Jackson – total blocks (fourth overall and D-I – 65)
• Career Records to Watch:Briana Peguero – free throw percentage (first overall and D-I – 87.0) | Leilani Guion – 3-point percentage (eighth in D-I, ninth overall – .353) | Zay Dyer – average rebounds (seventh in D-I– 8.2) | Shaulana Wagner – average assists (first in D-I, second overall – 5.8), total assists (tied for eighth in D-I – 345) | Brianna Jackson – total blocks (tied for eighth in D-I, tied for ninth overall)
• Five Trojans have averaged double-figures, led by Peguero with 18 and followed by Dyer (17), Ngnawo (12.8), Wagner (12.5) and Jackson (12.5).
• With a second straight victory at Illinois State, the Trojans are 7-3 all-time in the WNIT and 3-0 on the road.
• For a second straight game, Peguero led the Trojans in scoring with a career-high 28 points on six triples.
• Troy was lethal from behind the arc with 13 makes behind the line, marking its fifth game with double-digit triples – Troy is 47-6 in games under Rigby with 10-plus made triples.
• Wagner continued facilitating the Trojan offense as she dished 10 assists for her fifth game with double-digit assists.
• Dyer scored in double-figures for her 12th straight game as she had 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
• With 87 made free throws on 100 attempts, Peguero leads Troy program history with the highest career free throw percentage (min. 75 shots).
• During the WNIT run, the Trojans have erupted on the offensive end with 92.7 points per game on 47.0 percent shooting. They’ve also dominated the battle of the boards with 47.8 per game with a plus-14.0 rebound margin.
• With the Trojans’ appearance against Illinois State, they advanced to the WNIT Fab 4 for the second straight season.
• With Jackson’s 11 points at Illinois State, she scored double figures in her fifth straight game and 16 of the last 19 games.
• Peguero has averaged 18.0 in the WNIT run, shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from deep.
• In last season’s WNIT run, Guion averaged six points with four makes from deep, while Wagner averaged 3.8 points, six assists and 4.5 rebounds.
• The Trojans saw their first postseason victory in round two of the 2024 WNIT in a 92-62 win over FIU.
• Dyer earned All-Sun Belt First Team with a league-leading 10.5 rebounds and 14 double-doubles – she became the ninth player in head coach Chanda Rigby‘s tenure to earn first team. The junior forward also ranked in the top 10 for the SBC in blocks (0.94), field goal percentage (44.5) and total points (417).
• Dyer leads the SBC in double-doubles with 17 – she also ranks 14th in the nation. No. 5 also holds the top spot in rebounds at 10.2 and ranks 18th nationally.
• Wagner has led the Trojans in either scoring or assists in all 29 games played.
• Jackson rejected eight shots over North Texas to tie for the second most blocks in a single game.
• Jenkins has hit multiple 3-pointers in 17 of her last 25 games (52 total), including eight games with three-plus triples.
• Baez has finished with double-digits in 22-of-37 games and swiped multiple steals in 18-of-37.
• In 23 of her last 29 games, Wagner’s finished with 5-plus assists. She’s collected 5-plus assists 38 times in her Troy career.
• Dyer scored 10-plus points in 29 of her 36 starts.
• Guion has made at least one triple in 20 of her 30 games (29 total).
• Jackson has rejected a shot in 22 of the last 29 games (55 total) to rank second in the SBC with 1.76 blocks per game – Jackson ranks second in the league in total blocks at 65.
• In eight of her nine games where Jackson had double-digit rebounds, she claimed a double-double.
• With the victory over Old Dominion, Rigby has now defeated every current Sun Belt opponent.
• Through 37 games, Troy remains the premiere team in the country for rebounding, leading the pack with 49.3 per game.
• Troy leads the league in blocks (4.8), rebound margin (plus-11.7), defensive rebounds (32.9), total rebounds (49.3) and scoring offense (80.0) – it ranks 12th in the country for scoring.
• Morris erupted in 27 minutes off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field against ULM to become the first player since La’Tia Fils-Aime’ (7-of-7 – Thomas) on Nov. 21, 2016, to shoot 100 percent (min. five shots).
• With the victory over Texas State, head coach Chanda Rigby scored her 250th career victory at Troy – the second coach in program history with 250-plus wins.
• Head coach Chanda Rigby (158-72) secured her 150th career Sun Belt Conference victory over Georgia State. The feat has only been done twice before in league history via Brian Boyer (Arkansas State – 193) and Joe Foley (Little Rock – 231).
• Dyer earned Sun Belt Player of the Week (Jan. 7), averaging 18 points, 16.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in wins against Coastal Carolina and Marshall – she followed it with back-to-back awards (Jan. 14) on 20 points, 16.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks over App State and Georgia State.
• No. 5 became the first Trojan to go back-to-back with SBC POTW awards since Kayla Robinson (Feb. 5, Feb. 12) in 2017-18.
• Wagner became the first D-I player in Troy women’s basketball history to record a triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
• The 2024-25 roster contains zero underclassmen, with six as seniors and six as juniors.
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BUFFALO GAME NOTES
https://ubbulls.com/documents/2025/4/4/2024-25_Game_Notes_-_WNIT_-_Troy-compressed_1-compressed.pdf
TROY GAME NOTES
https://ubbulls.com/documents/2025/4/4/Troy_Game_Notes__WNIT_.pdf
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team (29-7, 13-5 MAC) hosts Troy in the WNIT championship game at Alumni Arena on Saturday at 5pm.
This is the first time the Bulls are playing games in the month of April and “Game 37” marks the most games played in a season in program history. UB has now won four straight postseason games for the first time and has tied the single-season wins record (29).
The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Ashlee Jones (color) announcing and can be heard on 1520 AM and the Varsity Network with Jack Kreuzer on the call.
This is the 10th overall meeting between the two programs and the second this season as the Bulls defeated the Trojans in the regular season opener on November 4. Buffalo and Troy (previously Troy State) played eight times from 1993-97 as members of the Mid-Continent Conference.
Buffalo is 29-7 overall after defeating Cleveland 74-69 in the Fab 4 on Wednesday. Three Bulls scored in double figures on the night, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 21 points. Senior guard Noelani Cornfield stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 15 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and five steals and sophomore Kirsten Lewis-WilliamsKirsten Lewis-Williams added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Bulls are led offensively by Watson who was named First-Team All-MAC and ranks in the top 20 nationally in total points (740), points per game (20.6), field goals made (281) and attempted (638). Lewis-Williams, a Second-Team All-MAC selection, is averaging 13.5 points per game while leading the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and Cornfield, who was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team, is also averaging in double figures at 10.8 ppg, while leading the team and ranking 17th nationally in assists per game (5.7) and 10th in total assists (201).
Troy enters Wednesday’s game with a 24-13 overall record after defeating Illinios State 99-96 in the Fab 4. The Trojans are 7-3 all-time in the WNIT and 3-0 on the road. This is the their first-ever postseason championship appearance. The Vikings are balanced offensively with four players averaging in double figures, led by All-Sun Belt First Team selection Zay Dyer who is averaging a double-double at 13.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. She ranks in the top 20 nationally in rebounds, rebounds per game and double-doubles. Briana Peguero (10.7 ppg) is also averaging in double figures while Shaulana Wagner (8.9 ppg) ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game (6.7) and 13th in total assists (195).
As a team the Trojans lead the nation in rebounds per game (49.3) while ranking third in rebound margin (+11.7), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (16.4), ninth in bench points per game (22.7) and 12th in scoring (80.0). Five Trojans are averaging in double-figures in the WNIT run.
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