Texas State women’s basketball’s (5-3) three-game winning streak came to an end after losing 63-59 to Lamar University (4-4) Friday night.
A game that was close throughout all quarters came down to a couple of late possessions. The Bobcats struggled from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter, shooting 4-10, and failed to complete the comeback.
Senior guard Anyssia Gibbs (15 PTS, 5-7 FGS, 3-5 3PTS, 2-3 FT, 6 REB, 4 AST) hit a three-pointer to put Lamar up 53-51 with 07:19 left in the final quarter and the Cardinals never looked back. 
Senior guard Kennedy Taylor (18 PTS, 5-7 FGS, 8-13 FT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL) was the ‘Cats leading scorer followed by graduate guard Jo’Nah Johnson’s nine points and two assists.
Neither team pulled away at the beginning of the game as they both went back and forth trading buckets.
Gibbs hit a three-pointer to open the game and the Cardinals went on to stretch the lead to 7-2 with 07:55 left in the quarter. Senior guard Ja’Kayla Bowie answered by converting an and-one which led to a layup by junior forward Lauryn Thompson to tie the game at seven at the 6:59 mark.
After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, Taylor hit 2-2 free throws to give Texas State a 14-11 lead. Both teams traded baskets and the Bobcats finished the quarter with a 16-15 lead over the Cardinals.
Senior center Jaeda Reed opened up the second quarter with a layup, putting the ‘Cats up 18-15 followed by a three-pointer from junior guard Malay McQueen which tied the game back up.
Both teams continued to trade baskets until Texas State went on a six-point run to go up 35-27 with 01:36 remaining. Sophomore forward Nj Weems ended the run with a layup at the 01:05 mark and Texas State went into halftime with a six-point lead.
Neither team let up during the third quarter as baskets continued to be traded between both teams. Lamar answered first with a layup made by freshman center Akasha Davis. Taylor went 1-2 from the free-throw line to extend the lead to 36-31 for the ‘Cats. Buckets from Gibbs and McQueen tied the game 36-36 with 05:55 left to play in the quarter.
Taylor and Johnson scored back-to-back buckets of their own to open the lead back up to four for the Bobcats. The quarter finished with two made free throws by sophomore guard Sabria Dean to cut the Cardinals’ deficit to one, making the score 48-47 going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter started with a three-pointer made by senior guard Angel Hastings. The Bobcats quickly answered with a layup made by Johnson to put the ‘Cats back up one. This was Texas State’s last lead of the game.
Gibbs took the game over after Johnson’s layup. She went on to hit a three-pointer, followed by a layup and a free throw. Texas State responded with two free throws of its own, but Gibbs came back to hit another three-pointer to put the Cardinals up 60-53 which led to a Texas State timeout.
The Bobcats were able to claw back into the game, making it 60-59 after a made free throw from Johnson. Dean fired back after hitting 2-2 free throws, stretching the Cardinal lead back up to three with 0:10 remaining.
Taylor was fouled with eight seconds remaining but missed both free throws which iced the game for Lamar. Texas State continued to foul and junior guard Kayla Mitchell hit the free throw to close the game 63-59.
Texas State was outscored in the second half 34-24 and only made 1-8 three-pointers compared to Lamar’s 4-9.
Next up, the Bobcats face UTEP at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Strahan Arena in San Marcos. The game will stream on ESPN+.