Texas State women’s basketball (7-8 overall, 4-6 Sun Belt) fell short of a victory against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (9-7 overall, 5-4 Sun Belt) on Feb. 5.
It was tightly contested throughout the early stages of the game as the Bobcats and the Trojans traded leads back and forth throughout the first 17 minutes of the ballgame, with no team pulling ahead significantly,
Texas State had an answer for everything the Trojans had to offer. Led by junior forward Da’Nasia Hood and sophomore forward Lauryn Thompson, scoring 11 of the Bobcats 23 first-half points, the Bobcats kept the score close.
Up until the 2:51 mark in the second quarter, the game was a chess match between both programs. That point marked the Trojans’ ability to pull away with a lead they never gave up.
The Trojans were led in the first half by senior forward Krystan Vornes, who had 10 points in the first half. Ultimately, it was Vornes who scored six crucial points down the stretch in the late minutes of the first half that led to Little Rock never giving up the lead.
Heading into the half, the Trojans were up by only five points, a lead that eventually blossomed into a nine-point lead just three minutes into the second half.
While Vornes led the last-minute surge to end the first half, it was senior forward Teal Battle who went on her own 9-0 scoring run to open the second half for the Trojans, scoring in a plethora of ways — from a pull-up jumper to finger rolls. Battle delivered the blow that Texas State ultimately could not answer.
Battle eventually ended the quarter with two more made free-throws, giving her 11 points in the quarter in what ended in a 46-38 lead for the Trojans. She scored 11 of Little Rock’s 18 third-quarter points, nearly outscoring Texas State by herself.
In the final frame of the afternoon, Little Rock began to hit the layup line as five of their next six made baskets were layups, led by freshman guard Tia Harvey who had two early layups in the fourth quarter.
This catapulted Little Rock towards a 19-point lead. The Bobcats were victim to an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter. While freshman guard Presley Bennett scored six points for the Cats in the period, it was not enough to bring Texas State back into contention late in the game.
The Trojans’ lead proved to be too much for Texas State to handle, as the Bobcats ultimately fell to Little Rock by a final score of 62-51. The loss drops the Bobcats to fifth place in the West Division.
With the win, the Little Rock Trojans gained some much-needed room in the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division, now in third place.
Battle led the Trojans in scoring with 20 points (8-17 FGS, 4-5 FTS) and had the second-highest assist total for her squad, finishing with five dimes on the night.
For the Bobcats, Hood led the team in scoring with 12 points (5-11 FGS, 2-5 3FGS), and junior guard Kennedy Taylor led the team in assists with three helpers.
Texas State and Little Rock will face off in their final battle of the season at 4 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.