Texas State women’s basketball (14-17, 4-14 Sun Belt Conference) defeated the University of Louisiana-Monroe (18-12, 9-4 Sun Belt Conference) 76-73 in its final game of the 2023-24 regular season Friday evening at Strahan Arena.
The win snapped the Bobcats’ five-game losing streak.
“We didn’t have a perfect game, but we strung together four good quarters against [a] pretty good squad,” Texas State Head Coach Zenarae Antoine said. “I’m proud of the consistency shown tonight because they’ve been working really hard.”
The Warhawks tested the Bobcat offense early by implementing a full-court press and keeping it consistent throughout the game.
Texas State graduate student guard Ja’Niah Henson finished with a team-high 18 points and 3-for-5 from behind the arc.
Freshman forward Julia Coleman grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, adding 13 points and a pair of steals.
After averaging 21 turnovers per game throughout the regular season, the Bobcats allowed 14 turnovers to match the Warhawks’ 14. Texas State scored nine points from the Warhawks’ miscues.
“The key tonight was staying disciplined & composed, but also about having each other’s back from the start,” Texas State junior forward Jaylin Foster said.
Strong ball movement in the second quarter and trouble-free defense allowed the Bobcats to enter halftime trailing by four points.
For the Warhawks, senior guard Daisha Bradford and junior guard Jakayla Johnson split the team-high 15 points while shooting 100% from the free-throw line. Johnson finished the game with seven defensive rebounds and two assists.
The Bobcats and Warhawks played a game of accurate possessions starting at three minutes left in the third quarter. Both teams alternated layups on each possession to end the third quarter, with the score tied at 53-53.
“We were in it the whole time and just didn’t lose sight of the end goal and we did it,” Henson said.
Alternating leads between free throws, the Bobcats ultimately secured the win thanks to offensive rebounds by junior forward Tiffany Tullis and senior guard Sierra Dickson and several second-chance layups by Coleman and Foster in the final moments.
The team will shift its focus to the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Bobcats will open the tournament against Georgia Southern University (14-17, 4-14 Sun Belt Conference).
Tip-off between Texas State and Georgia Southern is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March. 5, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
