Women’s Basketball Concludes Non-Conference Play With Loss

The Texas State women’s basketball team ceded control of the game midway through the second half.

What once was a three-point deficit ballooned to 17 points in a span of seven minutes, with Stetson converting on six layups in this stretch. 

Coach Zenarae Antoine called it the “snow ball effect” — the team, one possession at a time, gradually fell more and more behind before it was too late. 

“We were getting close,” Antoine said. “You’re working hard and the ball just bounces their way. Then we hung our heads and then they ran the ball down floor and scored transition layups.”

“It’s really hard to beat the team up over for this kind of game,” Antoine said. “The team has been through a fair amount of adversity. What disappoints me is that we gelling well together in help defense and we weren’t there today.”

Texas State allowed a season-high 52 points in the paint in the loss. Antoine attributes the mark to transition and help defense, which plagued the Bobcats for the duration of the game.

Stetson attacked a weakened defense in transition, leading to break downs in the back line as teammates scrambled to find their assignments. Help defenders, a strength in previous games, weren’t engaged when Stetson drove to the hoop.

Strip that stat away, Antoine said, and there are positives to gleam from a 18-point loss. First and foremost– rebounding. Texas State grabbed 49 rebounds, including 26 on the offensive end, to compensate for their sub 30 percent field goal percentage. 

Second, the loss gives lesser utilized players experience on the road. 

Ericka May, freshman guard, and Raven Burns, junior guard, filled in for Erin Peoples, junior guard, and Kaitlin Walla, sophomore guard, a duo that accounted for 29 percent of the teams’ points heading into Saturday’s game.

Burns, in her second career start, and May combined for 16 points on 30 percent shooting.

“Erin and Kaitlin leave an offensive hole as well as a defensive hole,” Antoine said. “It’s difficult to replace, especially for players who haven’t had the same amount of playing time. It can be a pretty daring task.”

“We thought we would be a little bit better going into conference play,” Antoine said. “That being said, there was a lot of confidence in the room that we are right there. Our record is better, the difference is that we a target on our backs.”

Quixem Ramirez is the sports editor for the University Star where this story originally published. It is reprinted here through a news partnership between the University Star and the Corridor News | @CorridorNews | @Corridor_Sports