Texas State women’s basketball (4-2) defeated I-35 rival, UTSA (4-3) 65-57 Thursday night at Convocation Center in San Antonio.
Thursday’s game was the 27th meeting between the two programs. The win is the Bobcats’ sixth consecutive over the Roadrunners, giving them a 14-13 series lead.
“One of the things we challenged our team with was this is what you play for, this is what you work for,” Texas State Head Coach Zenarae Antoine said. “You work a lot of time in score situations. You’re on the road against your rival. Let’s make this fun and they really took that challenge on.”
Graduate guard Timia Jefferson scored a team-high 15 points for Texas State.
The Bobcat bench was a significant factor in the win as they added 17 points, with six coming from senior forward Nicole Leff.
The Bobcats dominated on the offensive glass grabbing 16 total offensive rebounds. Junior forward Jaylin Foster finished the game in double figures with 10 points and 11 rebounds, adding a block and three assists.
The Bobcats got an early 15-8 lead to end the first quarter. UTSA responded, scoring 17 points in the second quarter to cut the Texas State lead to 28-25 at halftime. The second half was evenly contested, with Texas State scoring 24 points and UTSA scoring 27, which made the score 52-52 to force overtime.
Texas State ran away with the game in overtime outscoring the Roadrunners 13-5 to secure the hard-fought win. Jefferson and Foster combined for nine of the Bobcats’ points in overtime.
“I liked what I saw in this game as far as hitting adversity and bouncing back,” Antoine said. “[UTSA] made adjustments, we made adjustments. So, I was pretty confident going into this overtime that this team was going to give it their all.”
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Texas State. The Bobcats will now turn their focus to their next opponent, the University of North Texas at Dallas.
Tip-off between Texas State and UNT Dallas is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
