Foster records 19 points and five rebounds to power Bobcats women’s basketball past Southern Miss on Graduate Night (2/22)

By: Jacob De Luna

KTSW Reporter

SAN MARCOS, Texas- The Texas State Bobcats women’s basketball squad defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 62-57 inside Strahan Arena on Graduate Night.

Senior Jaylin Foster led the maroon and gold offensively and defensively, recording a 19 point, five rebound and three steal stat line.

“It feels good just being able to work with my team and all of us coming together and doing the little things and pulling out both [wins] consecutive and at home.” Foster said.

Senior guard Destiny Terrell secured 15 rebounds for Texas State, also adding seven points. Off of the bench playing 28 minutes for Texas State, senior guard Crystal Smith recorded a stat line of 12 points, two steals and three assists. 

For the Golden Eagles, senior guard Nyla Jean finished with the game-high in points with 18. Jean also secured six rebounds and four steals against Texas State.

With the victory Texas State improves to a 12-15 record overall and 6-10 in Sun Belt Conference matchups. Southern Miss falls to a 9-19 overall record this season and a 4-11 SBC record.

“I am so excited for these six young women, I remember what it was like being a student athlete,” said Bobcats head coach Zenarae Antoine. “They were able to make their mark here at Texas State not only with the things they do academically and athletically. We swept our final series and we kept building in a tough season.”

In the opening quarter of play, both teams were evenly matched until Southern Miss built a 12-5 lead over Texas State with 3:36 remaining in the first. The maroon and gold were able to go on a 5-0 scoring run over the next two and a half minutes to cut the USM lead to two-points. Morgan Seiper connected on a late 3-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 15-10 lead at the end of one.

Some would say Texas State dominated during the second quarter of play as the Bobcats outscored Southern Miss by 16 points (20-4). Through the first five minutes of the second, the Bobcats held a 21-17 lead over the Golden Eagles. The lead ballooned all the way to 28-17 before Mikaylah Manley connected on just the second made field-goal of the quarter for USM. Texas State led 30-19 at the end of the first half.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles made adjustments coming out of the halftime break after trailing by 11 points, inserting themselves back into the ball game. The Bobcats maintained a 36-24 lead with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter, but USM was able to cut the Texas State lead to 43-36 by quarter’s end.

Although Southern Miss outscored Texas State during the third and fourth quarters, the effort was not enough to walk out of a road game victorious. Texas State closed the ball game out in the fourth and final quarter, securing a 62-57 win.

The Texas State women’s basketball team is set to host the 18-11 Troy Trojans on Feb. 26 inside Strahan Arena. In their most recent matchup, the Trojans previously defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 86-71.

The matchup between the Texas State Bobcats and the Troy Trojans will be available to stream only on ESPN+.