Women’s Basketball Closes Road Trip With Loss

The Texas State women’s basketball teams’ 10-1 run in the second half, which included 3-pointers from Taeler Deer, freshman guard, and Raven Burns, junior guard, wasn’t enough as the team lost 74-69 to the Georgia State Panthers.

The Bobcats were led by Erin Peoples, junior guard, and Ayriel Anderson, junior guard. Peoples posted her fourth straight double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Anderson had 17 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. 

“Erin really helped out a lot with her scoring in the first half,” Coach Zenarae Antoine said. “She has really been giving it her all after coming back from her injury and I can’t be more happy about that. Ayriel does a good job of knowing when it’s time to show up. She has played well in the past few games and her leadership as a junior is also key.”

The Bobcats shot 24.3 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc in the first half. 

The conference’s leading 3-point shooter, Meghan Braeuer, senior guard, went most of the game without a 3-point field goal until she hit converted one on her seventh attempt with five seconds in regulation.

“Part of our shooting troubles was that the shots weren’t falling, and part of it was just how they (Georgia State) defended us in the beginning of the game,” Antoine said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time to run set plays in the half-court offense as opposed to going a little faster. They also did a good job guarding Meghan and not letting her get good looks from 3-point range.”

The team’s shooting improved in the second half. Texas State shot 48.4 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range.  Shooting brought the Bobcats within a three point deficit, 57-54, with five minutes remaining in the game.

Turnovers plagued the Bobcats. Texas State gave away 15 turnovers, and it is the fourth game out of the last five that the Bobcats have had 15 or more turnovers in a game.

“The turnovers were just lack of seeing the defenses and where they are (defensively),” Antoine said. “The part where I see we have improved is giving up charges. We have done better in those terms, so that is a positive.”

Texas State is 7-5 on the season and 2-1 in the conference heading into their next game Jan. 8 against the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans.

 Paul Livengood is a sports reporter with the University Star where this story originally published. It is reprinted here through a news partnership between the University Star and the San Marcos Corridor News