Texas State women’s basketball (0-4) took on UTRGV (3-1) at Strahan Arena and came up short as it lost 77-65 on Monday night.
The Bobcats were only down four points at the end of the first quarter with freshman forward Kaliyah Murphy getting off to a hot start, scoring six points in the first period.
The second quarter is where UTRGV outscored Texas State 16-3, giving them an 18-point lead going into halftime.
Texas State refused to give up, though, as an easy bucket by sophomore guard Kyra Anderson with three minutes left to go in the third quarter sparked an 11-0 Bobcat run, cutting the nearly 20-point Vaquero lead to only eight points.
Even after outscoring UTRGV 20-19 in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were unable to get it done down the stretch.
“You know this is really tough, ” Texas State head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “I was pretty disappointed in our lack of execution, but once we came together and amped up the pressure as well, I think that did generate some points and energy for our team.”
Sophomore guard Saniya Burks scored a team high 24 points, shooting 8-20 from the field and 4-7 from beyond the arc. Burks was constantly in the passing lanes as she finished with a game-high four steals.
Murphy, in only her fourth collegiate game, logged the most minutes she has played in a game this season and scored a career high 13 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and three steals off the bench.
“[Murphy] plays her role really well, ” Antoine said. “She’s a really good rebounder and she’s a willing teammate.”
Senior guard Deja Jones was the only other Texas State player in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-8 shooting while going 1-1 from three-point range to go along with three rebounds and a block
The Bobcats had no answer for junior guard Jalayah Ingram as she finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-19 shooting and went 6-6 from the free-throw line. She was also tough on the glass, adding six rebounds and a block, four of those rebounds being offensive.
Texas State was outrebounded by UTRGV 46-28, largely in part due to senior forward Charlotte O’Keefe dominating the boards. O’Keefe finished the game with 18 total rebounds, six of which came on the offensive side and three steals, two blocks, and nine points.
Texas State will look to get its first win of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
