TXST’s Women’s Basketball Rally Late to Beat Louisiana

Louisiana took over the possession and missed a clean look from deep with nine seconds remaining. The Cajuns lucked into an offensive rebound but were unsuccessful in another jump shot attempt.

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Texas State women’s basketball team (17-8, 10-4 SBC) made some clutch plays at the end of the game, defeating Louisiana (13-12, 8-5 SBC), 56-53, inside the Cajundome on Thursday evening.

The win gives the Bobcats 17 wins on the season, matching the team’s win total from a season ago.

“These kids earned this win tonight,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “We battled through some adversity; these kids battled all night to come away with a big win. I am so proud of this team.”

The Bobcats pounced on the Ragin’ Cajuns from the opening tip, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead. The run covered 2:06 on the game clock and forced Louisiana into an early timeout. LA responded, rattling off its own 11-0 run to take a one-point lead on the Bobcats.

The game turned into a slugfest; both offenses were bogged down for the remaining 13 minutes of the first half. The Cajuns carried a five-point lead, 28-23, into the halftime break.

Much like the first half, the Bobcats charged out to a 14-4 extended run to regain the lead at 37-32. The spurt was fueled by the Holle twins as Brooke Holle scored four points, and Bailey Holle knocked down a 3-pointer, swinging the momentum into the favor of the road team.

Texas State was able to maintain the five-point lead into the final frame of play and entered the fourth quarter up 45-40.

After a Bobcat free throw, Louisiana mounted another 11-0 run to climb back into the lead at 51-46 with 4:49 to play. The home team would score just one more bucket for the remainder of the contest. Once again, Brooke Holle stepped up for the Bobcat offense, drilling a pair of 3-pointers to pull TXST back into the lead at 54-51 with 2:38 to play.

Both teams stalled on the offensive end again as neither team scored a point for the next two minutes of action. Nekia Jones of LA broke the scoring drought with an offensive rebound and put back with 35 seconds remaining to bring the home team within a point.

Louisiana was forced to foul and put Taeler Deer on the line with 20 seconds left. The senior stepped to the line and calmly sank a pair of free throws.

LA took over the possession and missed a clean look from deep with nine seconds remaining. The Cajuns lucked into an offensive rebound but were unsuccessful in another jump shot attempt.

LA had one more chance after a tap-back offensive rebound fell into the lap of Troi Swain. Her 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the heal of the rim and secured the win for Texas State.

Holle led the Bobcats in scoring, posting a game-high 21 points. The sophomore has posted two 20-point games this season. She converted 7-of-16 shot attempts, including 5-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line. Holle chipped in six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Deer added to her Bobcat legacy, breaking the Texas State single-season assist record. Her third helper of the game gave her 162 assists this season, topping the mark set by Shelly Borton during the 1989-90 campaign. The Houston native tallied 17 points and six rebounds in the win.

The Bobcats will close out this three-game conference road trip on Saturday with a rematch with the ULM Warhawks; the tip is slated for noon at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday. The Bobcats defeated the Warhawks 86-52 at Strahan Coliseum back on Jan. 18.

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