Jakayla Johnson led all scorers with 27 points as the Southern Miss Lady Eagles (13-13, 6-8 SBC) defeated the Texas State Bobcats (11-14, 7-7 SBC) 86-77 Saturday evening at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Sophomore guard Saniya Burks led all Bobcat scorers with 22 points, her eighth game this season with 20+ points while junior guard Taleyiah Gibbs possessed the second highest point total for Texas States while coming off the bench with 14.

Although the Bobcats shot 51% from the field, it just wasn’t enough to knock off the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss went to the free throw line 40 times, making 31 of its free throws. Despite the free-throws being the story of the game, the Bobcats also turned the ball over 21 times. Off those turnovers, the Lady Eagles scored 24 points.

However, the Bobcats did have multiple chances to tie up the game, even potentially taking the lead. With about a minute and a half left in the game, Texas State was down by two points. Since that moment in the game, Southern Miss scored 10 points to beat the Bobcats.

The Bobcats fall to a 7-7 SBC record with four games left in the season, sitting directly middle-of-the-pack in between multiple 10+ win teams and teams with six wins or lower. Texas State looks to shake off this loss as the Arkansas State Red Wolves come to San Marcos on Feb. 18.

Tip off starts at 7:00 p.m. at Strahan Arena. This game will be available to stream on ESPN+.