Texas State senior guard Kennedy Taylor sank two late game free throws to seal a 66-58 victory over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks Saturday afternoon at Strahan Arena. The nail-biting win comes fresh after the ‘Cats defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns 72-71 in overtime on Thursday.
While the Bobcats came out victorious, the Warhawks did not go down without a fight. With just 1:38 seconds left in the game, freshman guard Kyren Whittington grabbed an offensive rebound and made the layup attempt, cutting the Bobcats lead to six.
The pressure didn’t seem to faze Texas State as Taylor calmly responded by walking the ball up the court to set up the Bobcats’ offense. Texas State began to run a dribble handoff play around the perimeter to perfection, which eventually freed up senior forward Da’Nasia Hood for the wide-open lay-up off a slick feed from senior guard Ja’Kayla Bowie. This halted a 5-0 Warhawks run and increased the Bobcats’ lead back to eight.
With time beginning to run out, sophomore guard Linda van Schaik hoisted up a desperation three that met nothing but the front of the rim. Taylor rebounded but was fouled immediately which gave her the opportunity to score two free throws, extending Texas State’s lead to 10 — its largest lead of the day. 
Whittington scored the final points of the game with two free throws, but it wasn’t enough to win the game as the Bobcats dribbled the clock out.
Taylor’s play on Saturday set the ‘Cats up for success. She was an absolute menace on the court, making her presence felt in every facet as she led the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals. The Bobcats trailed for the majority of the first half, but a buzzer beating three pointer from Taylor cut the lead to four and gave the Bobcats some much needed momentum.
Halftime saw major defensive adjustments as Louisiana’s Whittington, who scored 18 points in the first half, was held to only penalty bonus free throws and six other points. 
The win improves Texas State’s record to 13-11 overall and 8-4 in Sun Belt conference play while the loss drops Louisiana to 4-21 overall and 0-12 in conference play. Whittington extended her double-digit scoring streak to eight games by finishing with 26 points, while also being the only Warhawk in double figures today. 
Next up, Texas State will travel to North Carolina to face the Appalachian State Mountaineers at 1 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Holmes Center.