Texas State Women’s Basketball Player Breaks Sun Belt Record, Bobcats Cruise

The Bobcats host Georgia Southern on Saturday with a scheduled tip of 2 p.m. To close out the regular season, the Bobcats will take on in-state rival UTA on March 3.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women’s basketball team (19-8, 12-4 SBC) downed Georgia State (7-19, 3-12 SBC), 62-40, inside Strahan Coliseum on Thursday afternoon in TXST annual Kid’s Game.

Students from local elementary and middle schools packed the stands, creating a unique home court advantage for the Bobcats.

In total, 4,225 fans were on hand to witness the Bobcat victory, breaking the school record for attendance at a Texas State women’s basketball game.

The lopsided victory gives Texas State 19 wins this season, the most since winning 21 games during the 2007-08 campaign. That team will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern. The Bobcats have won 10 games this season by 20 or more points, the most ever by a TXST team in the NCAA Division I era.

“I was proud of these girls for the adjustment on the defensive end of the floor,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “The type of defensive intensity we came out within the third quarter is what will carry this team as we move through the end of February and into March.”

Toshua Leavitt broke the Sun Belt Conference record for single-season made 3-point field goals on her last made bucket of the game.

Leavitt struggled early in the game to find the range, splashed a pair of triples in the final minutes of the game to move ahead of Middle Tennessee’s Kortni Jones for the record.

Jones made 115 3-pointers during the 2011-12 season. Leavitt sits at 116 with eyes towards the NCAA record of 129 makes set by Brianna Butler of Syracuse during the 2015-16 campaign.

Much like the previous matchup between these teams in Atlanta, the game was tight for the first 20 minutes. The Bobcats used a massive third-quarter run to seize control of the game, scoring the quarter’s final 16 points to push the lead to 22 points.

Senior forward Ti’Aira Pitts capped off the run with a basket as the buzzer sounded, ending the third frame.

Pitts logged a team-high 34 minutes of playing time, scoring a game-high 18 points. She converted 8-of-9 shot attempts inside the 3-point line on the afternoon. Pitts also chipped in four rebounds, three assists and one block. For the fifth time this season, Ericka May collected a double-double, registering 10 points and 11 rebounds. May converted 4-of-6 shots from the floor.

Senior guard Taeler Deer contributed 17 points, six rebounds and five assists to the Bobcat victory. During Sun Belt play, Deer is pouring in over 18 points a night while dishing out 6.8 assists and grabbing 4.3 rebounds. The Houston native is converting 43 percent of her shots from the floor and making nearly 80 percent of her free throws.

The Bobcat defense held the Panthers in check all afternoon, limiting Georgia State to 16-of-63 (25.4 percent) from the floor and 2-13 (15.4 percent) from behind the 3-point line. In the pivotal third quarter, GSU made just two field goal attempts in the frame.

The Bobcats host Georgia Southern on Saturday with a scheduled tip of 2 p.m. To close out the regular season, the Bobcats will take on in-state rival UTA on March 3. The regular season finale will represent Senior Day for Texas State’s five seniors. The tip is slated for 2 p.m. from Strahan Coliseum.

For all things, Texas State women’s basketball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.