Texas State women’s basketball (12-11 overall, 7-4 Sun Belt) defeated the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (13-6 overall, 5-4 Sun Belt) 72-71 in overtime Thursday evening to win its fourth straight.
A game where it looked like the ‘Cats could’ve pulled away early ended up going down to the wire. The Bobcats went on a 13-2 run with under 3:30 left to play in the fourth quarter. Texas State managed to come back from a 10-point deficit which was capped off by junior forward Lauryn Thompson’s overtime buzzer-beating shot.
Senior forward Da’Nasia Hood (27 PTS, 10-22 FGS, 4-9 3PTS, 3-5 FT, 10 REB, 2 AST) finished with a game-high in points and three-pointers made. Senior guard Kennedy Taylor added 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds and a steal. Thompson followed with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Both teams got off to a slow start. The game remained scoreless for over two minutes until the Bobcats went on a 12-0 run to take an early 16-4 lead. The Cajuns closed the quarter with back-to-back buckets, cutting the deficit to eight going into the second quarter.
Louisiana went into a full-court press and the Bobcats struggled to get initiated, only scoring a quarter low 10 points compared to the Cajuns’ 17 second quarter points. Senior forward Jaeda Reed opened up the second quarter with a layup and Louisiana answered with an 11-0 run of its own to give it a 19-18 lead five minutes into the quarter. 
Hood fired back with a pull-up three-pointer and Thompson made a pair of free throws to give Texas State a four-point lead. The Cajuns outscored the Bobcats 6-3 during the final minutes of the first half leaving the ‘Cats with a one-point lead going into halftime.
Neither team let up after halftime. Baskets were continuously traded until Louisiana regained a 10-point lead after senior forward Ty’Reona Doucet led a 14-0 run with under 05:30 left in the third quarter. Taylor ended Texas State’s drought with a mid-range jumper to make the score 50-42. The ‘Cats outscored Louisiana for the rest of the quarter to pull the deficit within five.
When it seemed like the Bobcats were dead in the water, Taylor hit another three-pointer with under four minutes to play to spark another run for Texas State. Taylor and Reed followed with back-to-back baskets which cut the deficit back down to three. 
It was all Texas State down the stretch in the fourth and Hood followed with a layup and a free throw to give the ‘Cats a 67-65 lead. A late foul by Reed sent freshman guard Lanay Wheaton to the free-throw line where she cashed in to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Hood drew first blood in overtime, making a mid-range jumper to put Texas State back on top. Back-to-back buckets by the Cajuns gave them a two-point lead that was cut back to one after a made free throw by sophomore guard Sierra Dickson. 
The Bobcats went on to get a crucial stop on defense which led to a timeout with eight seconds remaining. After a missed three-pointer from Hood, Thompson was able to corral the rebound for a second chance opportunity which ultimately was the dagger.
Wheaton and sophomore guard Makayia Hallmon finished as the scoring leaders for the Cajuns with 17 points apiece.
The Bobcats look to continue its win streak as they’re set to host ULM at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Strahan Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.