Women’s Basketball Season Ends with Plenty of Fight Left

By Connor MacKinnon and Jude McClaren
Sports Reporters

The women’s basketball team finished off with a 14-17 overall record with a conference record of 9-9. The season has been a roller coaster ride for the Bobcats as there were moments of greatness and then moments the team wishes they could have back.

Feb. 9, 2019

The ‘Cats at this point in the season looked very bleak, they lost five games in a row and senior guard Toshua Leavitt had her worst shooting stretch of her career. However, on the bright side freshman forward Da’Nasia Hood and freshman guard Kennedy Taylor were put in the starting line up during the losing stretch and showed a lot of promise.

Against Georgia Southern, Hood had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Taylor had 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. This dynamic of would come into play later as the Bobcats would go on a winning streak of their own.

Feb. 23, 2019

The maroon and gold have won four in a row after losing their last five. In their four game winning streak the ‘Cats beat Little Rock, who was at that time number one seed in the Sun Belt Conference. What was even more impressive about their win against the Trojans is Hood, Jayla Johnson, and Jaeda Reed were suspended for violating team rules, despite the losses of these three, the Bobcats still managed to gut out a season changing win.

The Graduates

Toshua Leavitt is arguably one of the best players Texas State Women’s basketball has ever seen. She was a two-time all conference player, getting a first team selection this season. Leavitt holds essentially every three point shooting record in San Marcos, and holds the Sun Belt Conference three point single-season made three point record. After last season’s ACL injury, Zandra Emanuel wasn’t sure if she would even play this season, with her career resting in the hands of an NCAA appeal.

Luckily for the Bobcats, the NCAA accepted her appeal and they got one more season of Emanuel. She started every game for the ‘Cats and led the pre-game hype circle every single game. The final senior the ‘Cats will lose is Dabrasia Baty. While Baty’s stats won’;t jump out at you, Baty still played in 20 games for Texas State and was certainly contributed to building a positive culture for Bobcat basketball. All three of these seniors were essential parts of the ‘Cats team this season and seasons past, there emotion, joy, and maturity will definitely be missed in Strahan Arena.

Bobcats Bring Hope For Future

With three seniors graduating in May, the Bobcats luckily have three standout Freshman that played significant time this year that can fill in the hole the seniors leave behind. The front-court tandem of Da’Nasia Hood and Jaeda Reed seems to give the ‘Cats an anchor at Center and a versatile power forward who can space the floor for Texas State.

Head Coach Zenarae Antoine has even described Hood or “Hoody” as a player with “elite scoring potential”. The freshmen aren’t the only future for Women’s hoops though, as the 2019-2020 Bobcats will most likely be led by the twin senior duo of Brooke Holle and Bailey Holle. The Holle twins are two-way guards that have been vocal leaders this season and last, and considering Brooke Holle was the ‘Cats second leading scorer this season, Brooke could very well head the Bobcat offense next season and will most likely be team captain.

Conclusion

The season can be seen as a work in progress for the ‘Cats because of the young core they still have currently on the roster. This team can hold their head high for beating the No. 1 seeded Little Rock at the time or being a possession away from beating UTA, who finished No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Bobcats never stopped fighting even during their losing streak, and that is credit to Antoine and the coaching staff. They never stopped fighting even when they were down by 16 points against South Alabama in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament.

Featured image courtesy of Texas State Athletics.