Sophomore guard Saniya Burks had a stellar debut for the Bobcats, almost willing them to victory as she dropped 34 points en route to a narrow loss to the Ohio Bobcats 72-66 Monday night in the season opener at Strahan Arena.

Ohio’s Elli Garnett was money all night and finished the game with 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. Asiah Baxter also had a good night, scoring 13 points and collecting six rebounds.

For Texas State, Burks put forth a stellar performance in her sophomore debut as she made 13 of 18 attempted shots and drained seven three-pointers. Burks was the only one in the maroon and gold to reach double-digit points.

“My confidence was higher after seeing the first shot go in,” Burks said. “I just wanted to give my team more momentum when I came off the bench.”

Texas State, being a young team with nine newcomers, played like they were still in the feeling-out process, as by the game’s end, 34 turnovers were recorded. Ohio capitalized on the 34 miscues and cashed in 28 points off turnovers.

“A part of [the issues] is having nine newcomers, as well as our style being more up-tempo than years past,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “We are going to have turnovers because we are more up-tempo, but it is really about doing a better job of understanding how to eliminate a fair amount of them.”

Texas State will now turn its attention to a tough foe in a hostile environment when the Bobcats arrive in Lubbock, where the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be waiting in the wings.

Tip-off between the Bobcats and Red Raiders is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov 9, at United Supermarkets Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.