With only one day to recover after traveling from Conway, South Carolina, to Athens, Ohio, Texas State women’s basketball (13-12, 4-9 Sun Belt Conference) squared off against Ohio University (7-15, 4-7 Mid-American Conference) in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge for its second consecutive road game.
With gas still in the tank, Texas State secured the victory over the Bobcats 80-71 Saturday morning at the Convocation Center. The win marked Texas State Head Coach Zenarae Antoine’s 200th win as she advanced further in the record books as the program’s winningest coach.
“[My 200th win] happening at [Ohio University], a place I truly cherished in my time here, both as a grad student and a coach, is awesome,” Antoine said.
Texas State graduate student guard Ja’Niah Henson shot a perfect 14-14 on free throw attempts and finished with 22 points. Senior guard Sierra Dickson and junior forward Jaylin Foster added 14 and 11 points, respectively. The trio combined for 47 of Texas State’s 80 points.
Texas State opened the game by draining three three-pointers to establish an 11-3 lead halfway through the first quarter. Ohio didn’t let the lead get out of reach, closing out the quarter with a buzzer-beater by freshman guard Laylay Fantroy.
Fantroy led the charge for Ohio throughout the game, finishing with 24 points, six rebounds and three nifty assists.
Ohio outscored Texas State 17-12 in the second quarter to take a three point lead at halftime.
Texas State stuck to its game plan and pulled away in the second half by applying pressure on defense. Turnovers allowed the maroon and gold to build a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, fouls were Ohio’s downfall, as Texas State put the game away from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. In the final period, 13 of the team’s 24 points came from the charity stripe. Texas State finished the game 26-28 on free-throw attempts as a team.
“I can’t lie; Ohio is my old stomping grounds, so there’s a lot of nostalgia for me when I’m on this court,” Antoine said. “I have a lot of respect for what Bob [Boldon] has done with this program.”
Texas State will enjoy a four-day break before heading back on the road to face Troy University (13-10, 9-3 Sun Belt Conference). The Trojans are coming off an 88-78 win against Bowling Green University.
Tip-off between Texas State and Troy is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
