Texas State women’s basketball (10-9, 1-6 Sun Belt Conference) lost its fourth consecutive game to Arkansas State (10-7, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference) 57-53 Saturday afternoon at Strahan Arena.
It was neck and neck in the first and second quarters as both teams traded buckets. The Bobcats pulled away with an 8-0 run establishing a 30-23 lead going into halftime.
The Red Wolves adjusted and dominated the third quarter with a 10-0 run leaving Texas State scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The Bobcats lost their lead trailing 39-37 going into the fourth quarter.
“This team is always fighting, and they can see it. It’s just getting over that hump,” Texas State Head Coach Zenarae Antoine said. “We’re in season now, so you’re not practicing as long or as much, so that period in practice is so critical to understanding what that carry-over needs to look like.”
Graduate student guard Ja’Niah Henson lit up the fourth quarter for the Bobcats with back-to-back threes and two points from the charity stripe. Henson finished with 22 points and set a new season high with six three-pointers made.
Henson’s performance wasn’t enough as the Red Wolves went on another 10-0 run led by junior guard Izzy Higginbottom. Higginbottom shot a perfect 8-8 on free throw attempts and fished with 20 points, joining the 1000-point club for Arkansas State women’s basketball.
The Bobcats went scoreless for six minutes, but a three-pointer from Henson kept the score 53-50 with 22 seconds remaining. The Red Wolves drained the personal foul free throws and completed the season sweep.
“As we’re growing, we’re going through some growing pains but we are also developing,” Antoine said.
Texas State will aim to snap the losing streak against its next opponent South Alabama University (7-12, 0-7 Sun Belt Conference).
Tip-off between Texas State and South Alabama is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
