Texas State women’s basketball (1-1) secured a 74-70 overtime win against Southern Methodist University (0-2) Dec. 3 at Moody Coliseum.
Opening up the first quarter of play, both teams were scoreless in the first two minutes. The scoring quickly ramped up as SMU led 11-8 with 5:18 left in the quarter. The Mustangs would extend their lead to 20-12 before Texas State closed out the first quarter on an 8-2 run. SMU would close the first quarter with a 22-20 lead.
SMU remained in front as both junior guard Kayla White and freshman guard Rhyle McKinney consistently knocked down shots for SMU. The Mustangs improved their lead to as much as 10 points at 34-24 with 3:26 left to play in the first half. Texas State struggled to shoot until junior forward Da’Nasia Hood made a deep two-point shot to reduce the deficit to 34-28. After a tough shot by White, SMU would stay in the lead 37-30 going into halftime.
In the first half, Texas State shot the ball 39.3% (11-28 field goals, 2-6 three-pointers) and brought in 18 total rebounds.
Finishing the first half, Hood led all Bobcats in scoring with nine points along with four rebounds. Following was junior guard Ja’Kayla Bowie (7) and senior guard Avionne Alexander (6).
Leading all scorers at halftime was White with 13 points, followed by McKinney (6) and sophomore guard Reagan Bradley (5).
Texas State cut the lead down to 37-42 just over two minutes into the second half. SMU’s junior center Paige Bayliss reentered the game at the 6:29 mark and had an instant impact. Bayliss recorded four points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in the third quarter.
Freshman forward Nicole Leff made her Texas State debut halfway through the third and recorded the first three points of her career after converting an and-one to cut the SMU lead to 46-41 with 3:33 left in the quarter.
SMU would build its lead up to 54-46 finishing the third quarter.
SMU looked like it would pull away early in the fourth as it went on a 6-2 run to stretch the lead to 60-48. The Bobcats fought their way back into the game, going on a 11-5 run led by Taylor with seven points in that span. Taylor capped off the run with two free throws to bring Texas State within four points trailing 62-58 to SMU with 3:11 left.
Hood would score five straight points the Bobcats within two, trailing 66-64 with 1:25 left in regulation.
With 0:11 left to play, Taylor faked a pass to the top of the key and drove left to the basket for a wide-open, game-tying layup. The Mustangs would miss the final attempt to send the game into overtime tied at 66-66.
After going scoreless in the first half, Taylor scored 11 points in the final two quarters, including the game-tying shot in regulation. Leading all scorers was Hood with 21 points along with eight rebounds.
For SMU, White stayed persistent and recorded a team-high 18 points in regulation along with four rebounds. McKinney followed with her own eight points and five rebounds.
Starting overtime, the teams traded layups to increase the score to 68-68. Texas State began to take control. Alexander found her spot, and the Bobcats took their first lead at 70-68 with 3:41 left to go.
With time slipping away, SMU resorted to fouling to extend the game. Hood would make 4-6 of her free throws to close the game 74-70 and secure the first win of the season for Texas State.
Texas State improved its shooting in the second half to finish the game off at 45% (27-60 field goals, 5-15 three-pointers). Although they were out-rebounded 43-37 by the Mustangs, the Bobcats managed to force 18 turnovers and record 12 assists along the way.
SMU shot the ball at 40.6% (28-69 field goals, 4-22 three-pointers) and gathered 43 rebounds, along with 10 assists. It forced a total of 19 turnovers on the Bobcats and had 17 points off those turnovers.
Hood was one rebound shy of tallying her second double-double of the season, finishing with 25 points (8-20, 2-6 three-pointers) and nine rebounds. Following Hood was Taylor with 13 (5-10, 1-4 three-pointers), Bowie with 12 (4-7, 1-2 three-pointers) and Alexander with 11 (5-8).
Despite not scoring in overtime, White led the Mustangs with 18 points (7-16, 2-7 three-pointers). McKinney ended with 10 points (4-19, 0-8 three-pointers). Bayliss finished the final buzzer with nine points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
The Bobcats will now set their sites on the University of Incarnate Word on Dec. 9 in San Antonio, Texas.