A Look into Women’s Basketball

By Andrew Zimmel
Assistant Sports Director

Coach Z in the History Books

Only a handful of Texas State coaches have been able to reach the peak that Coach Zenarae Antonie has this season. Only three other women’s basketball coaches have racked up over 100 wins for the maroon and gold, but Coach Z looks prepped to get to the very top. Suzanne Fox, who was in San Marcos for 14 seasons, holds the record for most wins at Texas State with 174, a record that looks possible to be broken by Coach Z. Coming into this season, the women’s basketball coach needed 12 victories to get to the big one, getting it against ULM on January 18th. At the rate Coach Z is on, it shouldn’t be hard to imagine she gets that number one spot in the next few seasons (my bet is 2021).

Toshua Turns The Lights Out

Wow is a three letter word, and the only way you can describe Toshua Leavitt’s season to this point. I have to have a disclaimer before I write too far ahead: I love the way Toshua Leavitt plays the game of basketball. I do not care what anyone says, three point shooting

isn’t just a cute trick anymore, it is a deadly weapon, and one that Leavitt uses well. Of the 253 shots Leavitt has taken to the point of publication, 202 of them have been three point shots. For a quick comparison, no other Bobcat has taken more than 82. Leavitt has shot the three at an excellent 43 percent and is the top three for assists on this team as well. Her main role though has been a bucket maker and she is filling the role nicely, leading the team is points per game at 18 per contest. Coach Z has been vocal that almost every player on this roster has the green light from three, but you have to assume that Toshua has that next light whatever comes next.  The only question that has been in the front of many fans minds has been whether or not she can keep this up. For every seven for 10 shooting night, there have been three for 17. There are some night Leavitt can erupt for 20 or 30 plus points, and some night she struggles to get 15. Leavitt has been hot so far, especially in the last five games shooting 45 percent from behind the arc and averaging 16.2 ppg, but the question is what happens when she goes cold.

Prediction

The Bobcats are coming into the second half of Sun Belt play at 5-3 with only one really bad loss (a 63-48 loss to Little Rock), and that’s something that I don’t see happening two times in a row. One consistent in all the losses has been poor shooting by either Taeler Deer or Toshua Leavitt. If one of them is off and the rest of the team plays well, this team can play with any team, but if they are both off, then this team will struggle. The Bobcats will go as far as Deer and Leavitt can carry them. I see this team going 7-3 (at the best, but if we are being conservative let’s say 5-5), good enough for 12-6. I know, I know, it’s lame to predict the same record in conference for men’s and women’s but I don’t know where 12-6 will leave the women’s team. I want to say it’ll be top three seed, but it could easily for a fifth seed if things fall the wrong way. I think this team gets to the Conference Championship game, from there, flip a coin.

Featured image by Robert Byrd.