Bobcats Pick Up 61-56 Road Win At Houston
HOUSTON – Texas State made nine of its first 10 shots, pieced together three scoring streaks of 6-0 or better in the first 20 minutes of play and shot nearly 50 percent; but had to weather a fourth-quarter Houston rally en route to a 61-56 win Wednesday evening inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
Amber Jones scored a career-high 15 points, including eight in the first half, to lead the 3-2 Bobcats on the offensive end. Also scoring double-figure on the night were Taeler Deer and Kiani Lurry with season-highs of 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Bobcats closed the evening shooting a season-best 48.9 percent (22-of45) from the field and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the free-throw line.
Houston was led by Serithia Hawkins' 15-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Angela Harris scored a game-high 17. The Cougars, which turned the ball over 21 times, shot 32.8 percent (22-of-67) for the night.
After a sluggish start to the first three minutes of the game, Texas State scored three straight buckets in the paint for a 6-0 lead. Houston closed the Bobcats' lead to 9-7 with a Hawkins jumper, but TXST responded with eight straight points for a 17-7 advantage. The Bobcats built their double-digit lead utilizing a Jones score in the paint, two Deer layups and a mid-range jumper by Lurry.
Bailey Holle opened the second quarter scoring with her first career 3-pointer, giving the Bobcats a 20-7 lead. Texas State continued to score and force five Houston turnovers as the Bobcats' lead swelled to as many as 19 on Toshua Leavitt's 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:21 to go before the break
Points were at a premium in the third quarter as the teams combined to shoot 3-of-27 from the field and commit 17 turnovers. However, despite the frantic play by both teams, Texas State exited the quarter with a 43-29 lead on the scoreboard.
Houston's Angela Harris scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to trim TXST's led to 43-33. The Cougars would get no closer as Jones scored twice, Leavitt lifted in a scoop shot and Lurry knocked down her second trey of the game as part of a 9-2 run that left Texas State ahead 52-35 with 6:03 to play. Texas State would not score from the field over the final 5:09 as Houston outscored the Bobcats 19-7 the rest of the game with each of Texas State's final seven points coming at the free-throw line.
Texas State next plays at I-35 rival UTSA on Thur., Dec. 1. Texas State holds a 33-31 edge in the all-time series against the Roadrunners, including victories in each of the series' last two meetings.
Trojans Falter in Second Half Against No. 25 Aggies
LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock women's basketball team held a halftime lead over No. 25 Texas A&M, but the Aggies came out firing in the third quarter and used a 16-0 run to pull away for a 55-37 victory at the Jack Stephens Center on Wednesday night.
Texas A&M (4-0) scored those 16 consecutive points in an eight-minute stretch, keeping Little Rock (1-4) to just two baskets in the whole quarter. The Trojans led 23-21 when the run began for Texas A&M, and an Anna Hurlburt jumper finally ended the run with the Aggies ahead 37-25.
Kaitlyn Pratt was Little Rock's top scorer and rebounder, finishing with 16 points and eight boards while also tying a career high with eight made free throws. Monique Townson was the team's next-highest scorer with 8 points.
The night started off much more promising for the Trojans, though, as Little Rock led 11-8 after the first quarter and held the Aggies without a made field goal for the first nine minutes of the game. The Trojans had four different players score in the quarter including a late 3-pointer from Townson to give the team the edge heading into the second.
The Trojans took that narrow edge into halftime, scoring 10 points in the second quarter including six on free throws from Pratt. Their defense remained very strong, holding Texas A&M to 12 points in the period for a halftime lead of 21-20. Those 20 points were the fewest the Aggies had scored in a half all season.
Kiara Scott entered the game late for her first career home appearance and made her first career basket, a 3-pointer.
Little Rock returns to the Jack Stephens Center for its next game, taking on Saint Louis on Saturday at 3 p.m. in a rematch of last year's WNIT First Round matchup.
Jones' Buzzer-Beater Lifts App State Past ETSU
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - With the clock winding down in the final seconds and the game tied, Joi Jones banked a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Appalachian State University women’s basketball (3-2) past ETSU in a thrilling 71-68 victory Wednesday evening at Brooks Gymnasium.
After Jones had hit a pair of free throws to put the Apps ahead, 68-65, ETSU’s Tianna Tarter drilled a 3-pointer with five seconds left to tie the game. That’s when Jones took the ball and ran up the floor to hit the monumental game-winner. Jones stepped up scoring the final seven points for Appalachian in the final 20 seconds of the game.
The senior leader was more than clutch scoring 18 of her game-high 20 points in the second half while grabbing a season-high eight boards in the process and dishing out a team-high three assists.
Madi Story scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed seven boards while Ashley Bassett-Smith scored 12 points on three buckets and a 6-of-8 performance from the line. The senior forward was big down low with a season-best eight boards and a block.
Bria Carter recorded season highs in points and rebounds with nine and seven, respectively.
App State came out of the gate strong with a 13-4 jump in the first 5:39 of the game. Story scored seven of the team’s first nine points with the Apps getting the start they have been looking for recently. Later in the quarter, Mikaya Wilson drove the lane for a layup before Carley Lytton hit a trifecta to put the Mountaineers’ lead at six,15-9.
The second quarter belonged to ETSU as it outscored Appalachian, 26-16, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and outrebounding the Black and Gold, 15-4. After Jones hit a jumper to extend the lead back to nine (24-15) with 6:18 left in half, the Bucs would score 20 of the next 27 points to take a 35-31 lead into halftime.
ETSU came out of the locker room with the first four points of the second half to stretch the lead to its largest at eight, 39-31. But the Apps showed grit and toughness slowly clawing their way back with a 15-6 run over 6:31 that was sparked by back-to-back buckets by Story and Q Murray. The starting five took charge during the run as all five contributed in the scoring column. Both teams had traded baskets before Carter and Bassett-Smith hit three foul shots in the last 41 ticks to hold a 48-47 edge going into what was an exciting fourth period.
The Black and Gold’s defense clamped down on ETSU, holding the hosts to a 22.2 percent shooting clip from the field, which was the second time the Bucs shot 25 percent or less in a quarter.
Quarter four was neck-and-neck with both teams as neither team led by more than four points. The Bucs would take a 50-48 lead to open the fourth quarter before Jones’ jumper started a quick 6-0 spurt. Murray scored the next four points including her lone 3-pointer that proved to be clutch after struggling from beyond the arc.
Appalachian stayed in front for the majority of the final period until ETSU hit two from the charity stripe to take a 63-62 lead with 1:06 left in the game.
With Carter and Bassett-Smith fouling out earlier in the frame at the 3:50 mark, the Apps were thin in the frontcourt, but freshman Bayley Plummer stepped up when her name was called. Plummer scored six of her eight points in the quarter including a pair of crucial free throws that gave Appalachian the lead back with 48 seconds left. Plummer’s defense on the other end played a factor as she altered Dean’s go-ahead attempt and came down with the rebound.
From that point on, Jones would take over to help push the Apps to their seventh win the last eight meetings against ETSU and matching last season's win total in non-conference play.
The coaching staff put in a perfect game plan on defense to contain Shamauria Bridges and Tarter, giving the Bucs different looks on the defensive end. Despite the duo scoring 31 points, the points didn’t come easy. The Mountaineers limited the pair to 9-of-27 shooting from the field.
App State outscored ETSU in the paint, 34-24, and took advantage of 19 ETSU turnovers and scored 11 points off the miscues.
Appalachian will begin its home slate on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest against College of Charleston.