Bobcats Prevail in Overtime Win

By Jaysen Collins
Sports Reporter

The Texas State Women’s basketball team defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles by a final score of 62-52 on Saturday evening in Strahan Arena.

The Bobcats came into this game in fifth place in the Sun Belt Conference and are now tied for second in the conference with the win today.

Da’Nasia Hood was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points and four rebounds. Ja’Kayla Bowie and Kennedy Taylor each chipped in 12 points. Lauryn Thompson was the Bobcat’s leading rebounder with nine.

The Bobcats started the game on fire. They went on a 12-2 run to start the first quarter. Southern Miss was forced into three turnovers in the first quarter and the Bobcats made sure to convert.

The second quarter was a battle throughout. Both teams were trading shots until Southern Miss went on a 13-3 run to trim the lead to three going into halftime.

The Bobcats forced 28 turnovers in this game. Coach Antoine understands turnovers play a big part, but that wasn’t the main focus when it came to the defensive side of the ball.

“A big focus for our game wasn’t necessarily turning them over, a big focus was us amping up and exerting who is the best defense within the Sun Belt Conference,” Antoine said. “Offense will matter, but really just doing a great job defensively and challenging ourselves and our team took it to another level.”

The game slowed down in the third quarter. Neither team could find a rhythm as the Bobcats had four turnovers and Southern Miss shot 27.1 percent from the field with 7 turnovers. Entering the fourth quarter the Bobcats led 38-34.

Neither team was pulling away in this one. For every bucket the Bobcats scored, Southern Miss had an answer. With 30 seconds left in the game, a few costly mistakes put the Bobcats in a tough position.

Southern Miss made a three-pointer to make it a one point game, followed by a turnover with 23.2 seconds left in regulation. Southern Miss was able to get to the free-throw line and convert one out of two and force overtime.

The Bobcats had the advantage up until that point, but coach Antoine knows adversity is apart of this game.

“I felt a sense of calm and focus from the team. There was definitely a quietness and there was definitely a tone in understanding that they had the momentum,” Antoine said. “But they are mature enough to handle that information and process it. They played with a sense of calm and resolve after that and were able to push ahead.”

The game was close the first four quarters, but overtime was all Bobcats. They outscored Southern Miss 14-4 in the extra period and pulled out a tough win.

The Bobcats are now 7-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. Their next game will be back in Strahan Arena on Thursday Feb 2 against Troy University in a battle of top-ranked teams in the Sun Belt.