Texas State Women’s Basketball Tumble Against Trojans

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women’s basketball team (13-15, 8-8 Sun Belt) could not keep up with the Troy Trojans (20-6, 11-4 Sun Belt) in an 82-63 setback on Thursday afternoon at Strahan Arena in front of a raucous Kid’s Game crowd of 3,728 fans.

The loss snapped Texas State’s conference-best four-game winning streak and dropped the Bobcats a half game behind both Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State for the sixth spot in the Sun Belt standings.

“It was that fourth quarter that really crushed us,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “We were chipping away and [Tyra Johnson] hit a really tough 3-pointer. The mental block of overcoming that hump was pretty tough for us.”

For the seventh-consecutive ballgame, Texas State has at least three players reach double figures in the scoring column. Freshman guard Kennedy Taylor led the charge with 16 points and four assists.

She converted 7-of-10 attempts from the free throw line. Junior guard Brooke Holle scored 12 points with 10 coming in the opening quarter of the game. Senior guard Toshua Leavitt scored 11 points and handed out a game-high eight helpers.

Junior forward Jazza Johns reached double-figures for the third-straight game with 11 points and six rebounds in a starting role.

Troy buried 13-of-26 (50.0 percent) attempts from behind the 3-point line. The total tied a season-high for 3-pointers given up in a single-game this season for Texas State.

Junior guard Harriet Winchester made 6-of-9 tries from deep and finished with a game-high 18 points. Junior guard Jasmine LeBlanc scored 17 points, while junior guard Tyra Johnson added 11.

Troy jumped out to an electric start, scoring the first eight points of the game and forced Texas State to burn a timeout just 1:49 into the contest.

The Bobcats rebounded to score 14 of the next 17 points of the game to claim the lead. Holle was the catalyst for the run as she made a pair of transition triples. TXST led for the final time at 20-18 with 1:10 left in the first.

Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in the frame to help Troy close the quarter on a mini 5-0 run to regain the lead at 23-20. Winchester hit her fourth 3-pointer of the first half to close out the second quarter and give the Trojans a 10-point advantage at the break, 45-35.

The frantic pace of the game worked in the favor of the home team for a brief stretch in the third quarter. Texas State trimmed a 12-point lead down to six after fast break layups on three-straight possessions.

With the Trojan lead still at six, Johnson nailed a contested 3-pointer from the left wing with six seconds left on the clock. The shot seemed to be the dagger as Texas State was never able to recover.

Troy mounted a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and never looked back. The lead ballooned to as many as 21 points before settling at the final of 82-63.

Up next, Texas State continues a three-game homestand. The Bobcats will host South Alabama (March 2), before closing the season against UT Arlington (March 9).

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