Troy Trojans women's basketball

Last updated
Troy Trojans women's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Troy Trojans women's basketball team
Troy Trojans logo.svg
University Troy University
First season1975–76
Athletic directorBrent Jones
Head coach Chanda Rigby (13th season)
Conference Sun Belt Conference
Location Troy, Alabama
Arena Trojan Arena
(capacity: 6,000)
Nickname Trojans
ColorsCardinal, silver, and black [1]
     
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament appearances
1997, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
AIAW tournament appearances
1977, 1978, 1979, 1981
Conference tournament champions
1981, 1997, 2016, 2017, 2021
Conference regular season champions
1994, 1997, 2020, 2022
Conference division season champions
2021

The Troy Trojans women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference. [2] [3]

Contents

The head coach of the Trojans is Chanda Rigby, who is in her 12th season at Troy. During her first 11 seasons as head coach at Troy, the Trojans have made three NCAA Tournament appearances, one WBI Tournament appearance, two WNIT appearances, and have won three Sun Belt Tournament titles. [4]

The team plays home games in Trojan Arena, which was built in 2012 and replaced the old arena known as Sartain Hall.

History

Joyce Sorrell era

Troy's first season was in 1975 under then head coach Joyce Sorrell. Before Sorrell started the basketball program, Troy had no women's sports. Sorrell is considered the "mother of women's athletics" at Troy University. [5] Sorrell maintained consistent winning records for her women's basketball teams. In 1978, she helped guide Troy to an upset win over Florida State, 80–63. [6]

The next season (1978-1979), Sorrell scored an upset win over in-state opponent Auburn by a score of 76–70, and a few games later defeated Alabama, 85–80. The Lady Trojans would finish that season with a 21–9 record. For the 1979–1980 season, Sorrell once again led her team to more big wins, defeating Florida State and Florida in consecutive days. The Lady Trojans fell short in the state AIAW Tournament, but finished with a 19–11 record. [6]

Sorrell's 1980-81 team won an Alabama AIAW State Championship and posted an 18-16 overall record on the season. Sorrell coached Troy's first ever All-American in Denise Monroe during this time, from 1977 to 1981.

Joyce Sorrell led the women's basketball program through seven years (1975–82) as a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) before the NCAA began sponsoring championships in women's athletics in 1982. She then helped the program transfer from NCAA Division II to Division I in 1993-94 before retiring from coaching in 1995. She also coached nine 1,000-point scorers and 17 all-conference selections while coaching the Trojans through four different conferences, plus two seasons as an NCAA Division II independent. [5]

Jerry Hester era

Upon taking over the head coaching position on an interim basis after Joyce Sorrell retired, Jerry Hester was hired as the full-time head coach. In 1997, his second season as head coach, he guided the Lady Trojans to their first Division I conference championship, winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament and receiving their first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament. Troy lost that year in the First Round of the tournament to #12 Virginia, finishing with a 23-7 overall record. Hester earned the Mid-Con's Coach of the Year honor that same year. [7]

The following season (1997-1998), Hester started out the year with a 72–69 win at home against Mississippi State, but wasn't able to sustain the momentum throughout the season, finishing with just a 13-14 overall record. [6]

After struggling to find the same success he had in his first couple of seasons as head coach, Hester resigned from his position in 2002. [7]

Michael Murphy era

In 2002, Michael Murphy was hired as the third women's basketball head coach at Troy. Murphy had previously been an assistant for the Alabama men's and women's basketball teams between 1997 and 2002. [8]

Murphy steadily improved the Trojans as the school transitioned from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Sun Belt Conference beginning in the 2005–06 season. Murphy was never able to take Troy back to the success they had seen under Joyce Sorrell though, as he never garnered any championships and had only two winning seasons. [8] In Murphy's last two seasons as head coach, Troy had accumulated a record of 7–51 in two seasons, which led Troy to fire Murphy in 2012. [9]

Murphy finished with a 110-179 overall record.

Chanda Rigby era

Chanda Rigby was hired in 2002 after previously being the long-time head coach for Pensacola State College, where she won a state championship and took them to the NJCAA Final Four in each of her last two seasons. She led the Pirates to a combined 64–6 record over her last two seasons at the school.

Upon Rigby coming to Troy, she immediately converted Troy to a fast-pace philosophy basketball team, which is what led to her success at the NJCAA level. Troy quickly became known for its high-scoring offense and up-tempo playing style over the next couple of years.

In the 2014–2015 season, in just her third season at the helm, Rigby led Troy to their first 20-win season in 18 years, finishing with a 20–11 record and a berth into the WBI Tournament. Troy would wind up losing in the First Round of the tournament to Mercer, 68–83.

For the next season, Rigby led Troy to their second-straight 20-win season, finishing the 2015–16 season with a 20–13 record and a Sun Belt Conference tournament championship. This marked the first time Troy had consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more. The Trojans would receive a berth into the NCAA tournament as a #15-seed, only to lose to #2 Oregon State, 31–73.

Rigby followed up her successes with yet another 20-win season in 2016–17, this time finishing with a 22–11 record. Troy would garner consecutive wins against Villanova and Loyola-Chicago in the San Juan Shootout during the first half of the season. Troy finished 3rd-place in the Sun Belt standings, garnering a #3-seed for the Sun Belt Tournament. After defeating Arkansas State, UT-Arlington, and Louisiana in consecutive games, Troy won their second-straight Sun Belt Conference tournament championship. Troy received their second berth in as many years to the NCAA tournament, losing in the First Round #2 Mississippi State.

Troy would make their way back into the postseason once again during the 2018–2019 season, making their first-ever appearance in the WNIT. Troy finished the season with a 22-9 overall record, which included a 71–54 win over Ole Miss during the season.

In Rigby's best season at Troy to date, the 2019-2020 Trojans cruised through Sun Belt play with a 16-2 conference record and was crowned regular season Sun Belt Champions, earning the #1-seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. On March 12, 2020 the Sun Belt Conference cancelled their conference tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to Troy being awarded the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to them being the regular season champion. [10] Shortly thereafter on the same day, the NCAA cancelled the NCAA Tournament, and all other conferences cancelled their tournaments as well. The Trojans ultimately finished the season with a 25-4 overall record, the best in school history.

Following the historic 2019-2020 season, Troy was able to once again capture the Sun Belt title during the 2020-2021 season, this time by winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Troy would defeat Louisiana in the finals of the tournament by a score of 73-65. After receiving the #15 seed to the NCAA Tournament, the team would face the #2-seed Texas A&M in the first round, losing in the last seconds on what was a controversial missed call by the officials. [11] The final score would be 84-80, in favor of the Aggies.

In Troy's 2021-2022 season, the Trojans scored an upset over Mississippi State by a score of 73-66.

Coaches

YearsCoachRecord
1975–1995Joyce Sorrell274–278
1995–2002Jerry Hester93–103
2002–2012Michael Murphy110–179
2012–Present Chanda Rigby 192–118

All-Americans

Award Winners/Finalists

Neil Harrow – 2020
Joanna Harden – 2014 (Finalist)
Donette McNair – 2011

Postseason Results

NCAA tournament results

YearSeedRoundOpponentResults
1997 #13First Round#4 Virginia L 74–96
2016 #15First Round#2 Oregon State L 31–73
2017 #15First Round#2 Mississippi State L 69–110
2020 -CancelledCancelled-
2021 #15First Round#2 Texas A&M L 80–84

WNIT Tournament Results

YearRoundOpponentResults
2019 First Round UAB L 89–93
2022 First Round Alabama L 79–82
2024 Second Round
Super 16
Great 8
Fab 4
FIU
North Carolina A&T
ULM
Minnesota
W 92–62
W 89–75
W 89–75
L 69–74

WBI Tournament results

YearRoundOpponentResults
2015 First Round Mercer L 68–83

AIAW Regional Tournament Results

YearRoundOpponentResults
1977First Round
Second Round
Judson
Stillman
W 76–65
W 59–52
1978First Round
Second Round
FIU
Tougaloo
W 64–49
L 54–85
1979First RoundTougalooL 62–65
1981First Round Fort Valley State L 59–85

Championships/Titles

Yearly Results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Troy State (AIAW)(1975–1982)
1975–1976Joyce Sorrell 11–14
1976–1977Joyce Sorrell 16–10 AIAW Regional
1977–1978Joyce Sorrell 16–11 AIAW Regional
1978–1979Joyce Sorrell 21–9 AIAW Regional
1979–1980Joyce Sorrell 19–11
1980–1981Joyce Sorrell 17–17 AIAW Regional
1981–1982Joyce Sorrell 11–20
Troy State (Gulf South Conference)(1982–1991)
1982–1983Joyce Sorrell 14–145–33rd
1983–1984Joyce Sorrell 17–125–55th
1984–1985Joyce Sorrell 12–156–4T-2nd
1985–1986Joyce Sorrell 14–136–86th
1986–1987Joyce Sorrell 8–183–11T-6th
1987–1988Joyce Sorrell 12–145–96th
1988–1989Joyce Sorrell 8–172–128th
1989–1990Joyce Sorrell 9–192–149th
1990–1991Joyce Sorrell 7–202-149th
Troy State (Division II Independent)(1991–1993)
1991–1992Joyce Sorrell 20–6
1992–1993Joyce Sorrell 19–7
Troy State (East Coast Conference)(1993–1994)
1993–1994Joyce Sorrell 10–174–12nd
Troy State (Mid-Continent Conference)(1994–1997)
1994–1995Joyce Sorrell 13–147–11T-7th
Joyce Sorrell:274–2780–0
1995–1996Jerry Hester 14–1411–75th
1996–1997Jerry Hester 23–713–3T-1st NCAA First Round
Troy State (Atlantic Sun Conference)(1997–2005)
1997–1998Jerry Hester 13–149–7T-5th
1998–1999Jerry Hester 8–197–9T-5th
1999–2000Jerry Hester 9–186–12T-6th
2000–2001Jerry Hester 15–149–9T-4th
2001–2002Jerry Hester 11–1710–108th
Jerry Hester:93–10365–57
2002–2003Michael Murphy 16–1211–5T-3rd (South)
2003–2004Michael Murphy 11–1710–10T-7th
2004–2005Michael Murphy 14–1512–8T-2nd
Troy (Sun Belt Conference)(2005–Present)
2005–2006Michael Murphy 9–183–1210th
2006–2007Michael Murphy 12–175–1310th
2007–2008Michael Murphy 13–185–1311th
2008–2009Michael Murphy 16–1410–8T-3rd
2009–2010Michael Murphy 12–175–139th
2010–2011Michael Murphy 5–252–14T-11th
2011–2012Michael Murphy 2–261–15T-11th
Michael Murphy:110–17964–111
2012–2013 Chanda Rigby 7–243–17T-10th
2013–2014Chanda Rigby 12–188–10T-5th
2014–2015Chanda Rigby 20–1115–53rd WBI First Round
2015–2016Chanda Rigby 20–1312–84th NCAA First Round
2016–2017Chanda Rigby 22–1112–63rd NCAA First Round
2017–2018Chanda Rigby 18–1312–6T-3rd
2018–2019Chanda Rigby 22–913–53rd WNIT First Round
2019–2020Chanda Rigby 25–416–21st NCAA (Cancelled)
2020–2021Chanda Rigby 22–615–21st (East) NCAA First Round
2021–2022Chanda Rigby 24–913–21st WNIT First Round
2022–2023Chanda Rigby 17–1312–6T-4th
2023–2024Chanda Rigby 22–1215–32nd WNIT Fab 4
Chanda Rigby:231–143146–72
Total:708–703

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

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  2. "The Official Site of Troy Athletics". www.troytrojans.com.
  3. "2016-17 Troy Women's Basketball Media Guide".
  4. "Chanda Rigby - Head Coach - Staff Directory - Troy University Athletics".
  5. 1 2 "Joyce Sorrell (2013) - Hall of Fame".
  6. 1 2 3 "2018-19 WBB Media Guide".
  7. 1 2 "'Hess' calls it quits". 13 March 2002.
  8. 1 2 "Michael Murphy - Men's Basketball Coach".
  9. "Troy Women's Basketball Head Coach Michael Murphy Relieved of Duties".
  10. ""Robbed": Trojans react to championship season cut short - the Tropolitan". 29 March 2020.
  11. "Troy women fall to Texas A&M amid controversy". 23 March 2021.