Maroon & Gold Athletics Weekend Wrap-Up: Men & Women’s Basketball, Volleyball And Women’s Track
Maroon & Gold Weekend Wrap-Up: Men & Women’s Basketball, Volleyball And Women’s Track
Maroon & Gold Weekend Wrap-Up:
Men & Women’s Basketball,Volleyball And Women’s Track
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TXST to Host Consolation Rounds of WNIT
SAN MARCOS, Texas – After dropping the opening game of the 2018 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), Texas State will host one of the two four-team consolation round pods on Nov. 16-17. Traveling to Strahan Arena will be Delaware, Montana State and Nicholls State.
The WNIT announced Saturday afternoon that Delaware will face Montana State in the first game of the weekend. Tip time is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the newly renovated Strahan Arena. Texas State will host Nicholls State at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 16. On day two of the event, Nicholls will face either Delaware or Montana State. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start time. In the second matchup of the evening, TXST will host either Delaware or Montana State at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 17.
The games on Nov. 17 will be determined by the outcomes of the games played on Nov. 16. The two winners from day one will square off, while the two teams that come up short will play each other.
“To be able to play our first game at Strahan Arena in the preseason WNIT is exciting for our Bobcat fans,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “It is great to be able to host high quality teams in our newly-renovated University Events Center. The vision our administration had for the UEC included being able to host multi-team events that our fans would be able to enjoy. I am hoping to see a lot of our fans in the stands on Friday night to cheer on their 2018-19 women’s basketball team.”
SCHEDULE
Nov. 16 – Delaware vs. Montana State, 4 p.m.
Nov. 16 – Nicholls State at Texas State, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 – Delaware or Montana State vs. Nicholls State, 4 p.m.
Nov. 17 – Delaware or Montana State at Texas State, 6:30 p.m.
TICKET INFORMATION
Any questions regarding tickets can be addressed to the Texas State Athletic Ticket Office at 512-245-2272 or via email at gametickets@txstate.edu.
For all things Texas State women’s basketball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Bobcats Outlast Falcons in Season Opener
Pearson reaches 1,000 career points in front of second-largest crowd in school history
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men’s basketball team earned a 67-57 victory over Air Force to kickoff the 2018-19 campaign Friday night inside Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats (1-0) won their season opener for the fourth time in the last five years, while also avenging a loss to the Falcons (1-1) from a year ago in the first meeting between the two programs. The game was played in front of 4,058 fans, which was the second largest home-opening crowd in school history.
Junior Nijal Pearson led all scorers with 21 points. His final bucket of the contest came at the 6:46 mark of the second half and gave him exactly 1,000 for his two-plus seasons donning the maroon and gold. He became the 22nd player in school history to ascend into quadruple-digit territory. Senior Alex Peacock netted 14 points, while junior Jaylen Shead added 11 in his first game for Texas State.
Texas State shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from behind the 3-point line and 61.1 percent (11-for-18) at the free-throw line.
Ameka Akaya, Lavelle Scottie, Sid Tomes and Ryan Swan all scored 11 points for Air Force. The visitors shot 41.3 percent (19-for-46) overall, 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from distance and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) at the charity stripe.
The Falcons outrebounded the Bobcats 35-28, but Texas State led in assists (19-14), blocks (4-2), steals (9-2), and fewer turnovers (10-17).
Neither team could find breathing room beyond a three-point cushion through any of the first three media timeouts. A fast-break dunk from sophomore Quentin Scott at the 6:19 mark of the opening half gave the Bobcats an 18-13 edge and sparked a Texas State run that saw the advantage swell to 10 points at 25-15. The double-digit margin remained all the way until the maroon and gold headed into the break on top 32-22.
TXST was able to push its lead out to 13 points in the early stages of the second half, but Air Force fought back to within 40-35 at the 12:49 mark. A 16-7 run from the maroon and gold reenergized the crowd and gave the maroon and gold a 56-42 advantage with eight minutes to play. From that point on, the Bobcats were able to fend off any sort of meaningful rally from the visitors. The Falcons never got closer than five points.
Texas State led the night in points in the paint (28-18), points off turnovers (25-5), and fast-break points (11-0).
The maroon and gold will remain at home for the first game of the Portland Classic. The Bobcats will play host to Hardin-Simmons at 6 p.m. Nov. 13.
Texas State Soars into Postseason Play
Bobcats roll past UTA in straight sets Friday to close out regular season
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team capped the regular season with a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-21, 25-13) over UT Arlington Friday night inside College Park Center.
The Bobcats head into postseason action with a 24-6 overall record and a 15-1 Sun Belt Conference ledger after spoiling an opponent’s Senior Day for the second match in a row. The Mavericks ended their campaign at 15-11 overall and 9-7 in league play.
True freshman Janell Fitzgerald returned from a brief two-match hiatus to dominate for the Bobcats. She dazzled with career highs in both kills (19) and attack percentage (.692), finishing with just one error on 26 swings. Senior Madison Daigle compiled 11 kills and no errors on 20 swings for a .500 hitting clip. True freshman Emily DeWalt recorded her Sun Belt-leading 19th double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs, while junior Micah Dinwiddie tallied 15 digs and nine assists.
Brooke Townsend and Madison Hill paced the Mavericks with eight kills each. Kylee Kapp (14) and Alex Janak (13) combined for 27 assists, while Kylie Jedlicka registered 15 digs.
Texas State led in kills (48-34), hitting percentage (.367-.139), assists (46-34), digs (51-47), and blocks (6-3). UTA led in aces (4-3).
SET 1
The opening game saw the visitors come out on top by a 25-15 margin. They initially were only able to find a narrow 9-8 lead, but they ventured on lengthy 16-7 run that saw the advantage swell out to double digits.
SET 2
The second period was the closest of the three, and it was the maroon and gold that secured a 2-0 advantage by winning the set 25-21. TXST went on top 8-7 and played ahead the rest of the frame. The Bobcats were unable to run away with the set – leading by no more than seven at any point – but they also never allowed the home team to pull back level.
SET 3
A 4-0 run to open the third spelled doom for the Mavericks, as Texas State closed out the match by winning the final stanza 25-13. UTA was able to get back within two at 8-6, but in the blink of an eye the scoreline read 18-9 in favor of the Bobcats. The remainder of the match was never in doubt.
Texas State has now won 19 of its last 20 matches after starting the season 5-5. The Bobcats – who secured their first Sun Belt Regular Season Championship – won 15 league bouts for the first time since 2014. The 24 total victories are fourth-most in the nation and are one shy of matching last year’s tally.
UTA still leads the all-time series 41-39, but Texas State has won 27 of the last 34 meetings. The Bobcats have also captured 18 of the last 20 contests, which includes each of the last eight.
Next on the docket for the maroon and gold will be the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship. The postseason tournament will be contested Nov. 15-18 in Atlanta and will be hosted by Georgia State. The Bobcats have earned the No. 1 overall seed and the accompanying double bye, so they will not begin play until the semifinal round on Nov. 17.
Texas State Suffers 82-51 Loss at The Pit
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Texas State women’s basketball team (0-1) opened the 2018-19 campaign with an 82-51 setback against the New Mexico Lobos (1-0) Friday evening at Dreamstyle Arena.
Senior guard Toshua Leavitt was the lone Bobcat to reach double-figure scoring. She posted a team-best 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor. Leavitt connected on 2-of-5 shots from distance and converted all six free throw attempts. She also tallied three assists and one steal.
In total, 11 Bobcats played in the contest. Five players made their Texas State debut, including four freshmen making their collegiate debut. Senior forwards Zandra Emanuel and Jazza Johns each garnered their first starting roles as members of the Texas State basketball team. Of the 11 players to play, 10 found the scoring column of the box score.
Three players for host New Mexico recorded double-figure scoring outputs. Junior guard Aisia Robertson led the offensive onslaught for the Lobos with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Senior center Jaisa Nunn, a preseason All-Mountain West Conference first team selection, contributed 14 points, three rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Jayla Everett scored 11 points in her collegiate debut.
New Mexico, picked to finish in the top-five of the preseason Mountain West Conference standings, used suffocating defense in the second half to blow open a tightly contested ballgame. The Bobcats trailed by two points heading into the halftime break but were outscored 53-24 in the second half.
The Lobos forced the young Texas State team into 24 turnovers. The home team turned the extra possessions into 25 points, outscoring the Cats in points off turnovers by a count of 25-11. On top of the havoc caused on the Bobcat ballhandlers, UNM rejected 16 TXST shots. The constant ball pressure and superb rim protection led to the Bobcats shooting just 18-of-62 (29.0 percent) from the floor and 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
Texas State held a 16-14 lead after the first quarter of action. In the quarter, junior guards Bailey Holle and Brooke Holle made back-to-back 3-point shots to give the Cats a 10-6 lead with 4:44 remaining in the quarter. The score would mark the biggest lead for the visiting Bobcats.
As the score started to get away from Texas State late in the second quarter, Leavitt answered the call with seven-straight points for the Bobcats to close the half. TXST trailed 29-27 at intermission. New Mexico stormed out of the gates in the early moments of the third quarter. The home squad scored 11 of the first 13 points in the quarter to effectively pull away from the Bobcats.
Up next, Texas State will await the preseason WNIT consolation bracket release. The Bobcats will be off until Nov. 16.
For all things Texas State women’s basketball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Historic Finish for Women’s Cross Country
at NCAA South Central Regional
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Friday morning at the Dale Watts cross country course saw a historic finish for the Texas State women’s team. The Bobcats placed third for the best finish in program history and one spot out of an automatic berth to the National Championship meet. Leslie Romero led the way with a 12th-place finish as one of three TXST women runners to earn all-region honors.
Romero was the fifth best individual finisher from one of the non-automatic bid teams to cross the finish line. She will await word on whether she earns an at-large spot to the national meet following the conclusion of the seven other regional championships this weekend.
Earning all-region honors after coming in 19th with a time of 21:28.0 was Sydney Cole. Finishing a tenth of a second and two spots behind her was Kendra Long to pick up all-region accolades as well. Both of their times rank in the top 10 in TXST history.
Devina Schneider improved 13 spots from the 2K checkpoint to place 36th overall. She completed her final collegiate cross country race in 21:55.6. Crossing the line nearly five seconds back of her was McKynzie King to claim 38th-place.
Both Tina Sierra and Abby Steinhauser-San Miguel finished in the top half of the 154-racer field.
Texas State, entering the meet ranked eighth in the region, was in contention for the second and final automatic spot to the National Championships with a kilometer to go with Texas. In the end, the Bobcats totaled 122 points to finish behind Arkansas and the Longhorns TXST did beat out Baylor, LSU, Rice, SMU and Texas A&M at the meet.
In the men’s race, Joseph Meade recorded a personal best finish of 13th out of 115 competitors to earn all-region honors for the second straight year after finishing 18th in 2017. The senior crossed the 2K checkpoint in 41st before rising all the way to eighth at the 6.3K checkpoint. He crossed the finish line in the 10K race in 32:11.4.
Freshman Dereck Elkins completed the race in 32:52.1 to place 30th. He was five spots shy of picking up all-region honors in his first regional meet. The Round Rock, Texas native was the third highest finishing freshman at the completion.
For the latest on Texas State track and field, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateTrack.
Women’s 6K Results: https://txstatebobcats.com/documents/2018/11/9//2018_NCAA_South_Central_Regional_Women.pdf
Men’s 10K Results: https://txstatebobcats.com/documents/2018/11/9//2018_NCAA_South_Central_Regional_Men.pdf
