Texas State women’s basketball (6-5 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt) defeated the University of Louisiana at Monroe (2-10 overall, 0-6 Sun Belt) 64-50 in the second home game of a doubleheader on Jan. 23.
Despite the less than stellar records of each of these teams, Texas State Head Coach Zenarae Antoine thinks that both teams are much better than their records show.
“I really mean this with all sincerity, this wasn’t the 11th and 12th-place teams that played here today,” Antoine says. “There’s no way that [ULM] is a 12th-place team and it’s pretty obvious our team has been busting our tails as well.”
Much like the previous game, ULM came out aggressive and took a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. Junior forward Lauryn Thompson attempted to stop the bleeding with a three but the Warhawks grew their lead to 9-3 with 3:33 to go in the first quarter.
The Bobcats would only score three more points in the opening period as the quarter came to a close with ULM leading 13-6.
Texas State quickly ramped up its scoring in the second quarter. The Bobcats went on a 14-5 run to take the lead at 20-18 with 3:37 until halftime. The second came to a close with Texas State leading 23-20.
In the first half Texas State shot the ball poorly at only 25% (6-24) from the field but managed a decent 37.5% (3-8) from behind the arc and 72.7% (8-11) at the line.
The Bobcats were led by Thompson in the first half with nine points (2-2 3PTS, 3-4 FTS), six of which came in the second quarter, and six rebounds. Junior forward Da’Nasia Hood had zero points in the first quarter but had five points (1-2 3FGS, 2-2 FTS) in the second quarter to go with six first-half rebounds.
For ULM, junior guard Kierra Brimzy had nine points (4-10 FGS) while senior center Diamond Brooks had six points (3-3 FGS) and three rebounds.
The Warhawks connected on 34.6% (9-26) of their shots from the field and 50% (2-4) of their free throws through two quarters.
ULM quickly tied the game up in the third quarter at 27-27 just over three minutes into the half. After trading baskets for the next three minutes, Texas State pulled away and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead 40-32 heading into the fourth.
Thompson alone had shot the ball 5-9 for 10 points in the quarter.
The Bobcats continued to apply the pressure in the fourth scoring six straight to start the quarter. The game came to a close with Texas State winning 64-50 for its second straight win and taking the team’s overall record to over .500 on the season.
Despite the loss, Brimzy led all scorers with 24 points (11-24 FGS, 1-7 3FGS). No other player for the Warhawks scored in double figures.
Thompson finished the game with a double-double, scoring 23 points (9-16 FGS, 2-3 3FGS, 3-4 FTS) and collecting 11 boards, three of which were offensive. Hood had 19 points (6-14 FGS, 1-3 3FGS, 6-6 FTS) and nine rebounds. Taylor had a rough night shooting the ball, only going 2-9 and finishing with nine points, but did a great job finding her teammates for 12 assists.
Texas State will hit the road to face the top team in the West Division, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Jan. 29-30.
Antoine liked what she saw from her players in this game and says she thinks it will help prepare them to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns.
“I’m really proud of the team today largely because it was really important to have a scenario at home in preparation for the next game to be able to come in and be prepared to play and fight and battle all the way to the end,” Antoine says.
