Bobcats Cruise to a Victory Over Cardinals, 74-33
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team shut down the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Wednesday evening at McDermott Center, winning in dominant fashion, 74-33.
Texas State (2-0) stifled the Cardinals (0-3), surrendering a poultry 16-of-67 (23.9 percent) shooting. UIW scored just 10 points over the final 20 minutes and made only 5-of-30 shots in the last two quarters of action. The Bobcats were able to play defense without fouling, a key heading into the contest. UIW attempted only two free throws in the game, both misses in the fourth frame.
Offensively, the Bobcats drilled 11-of-23 3-point tries, giving the team 24 makes on the season. The team outrebounded UIW, 52-37 and hauled in 16 offensive boards.
For the first time since the 2012-13 season, Texas State starts out the season with a pair of victories. It is the first time since 2001-02 that both wins came away from San Marcos. That team won at UTEP and notched a victory on a neutral court over Arkansas State. This marks the first time in school history, dating back to the 1972-73 season, that the Bobcats won each of its first two games in true road games.
Texas State were led by junior guard Toshua Leavitt, who came out firing on all cylinders. She was able to connect on her first five shot attempts in the first half, all from behind the arc. She ended the first half with 17 points on 5-off shooting from deep. Leavitt closed out the game with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shots and three assists. Her six made 3-point field goals were one shy of tying her own school record she set last season against Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
After a career-day on Sunday, Taeler Deer turned in another strong performance. The senior guard scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win. Brooke Holle was in double figures for the second straight game, netting 13 points. She knocked down a trio of 3-point shots and drilled 4-of-5 free throw attempts.
Once again, Ericka May was tremendous on the glass. For the second consecutive contest she led the Bobcats in rebounding, as she hauled down 12 boards, including five on the offensive end. She also chipped in three points, one assist and one steal.
Zelor Massaquoi provided 16 solid minutes off the bench, pulling down eight rebounds and scoring her first four points in a Bobcat uniform. Jayla Johnson was a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor, scoring six points and tallying four boards in just seven minutes of action.
Texas State will be on the road again on Saturday, dueling with TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. Tip time is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena.
Little Rock Takes First Loss Against Tulsa, 74-61
LITTLE ROCK – The shots did not fall for Little Rock women's basketball as it took a 74-61 loss to Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
Sophomore Kyra Collier led the Trojans (1-1) in points for the second straight game as she tallied 14. She was a perfect 6 for 6 from the foul line and led the team with two steals. In a team-high 32 minutes, Keanna Keys tied her career high for rebounds with 13 and put up 10 points to earn her first double-double of the season. Ronjanae DeGray was the third Trojan in double figures as she put up 10 with five rebounds.
Four of Tulsa's players scored in double figures. Tatyana Perez led the Golden Hurricane (1-2) with 18 points, four assists and two steals. Kendrian Elliot put up a double-double with the second-most points (17) and tied the game high for rebounds with 13. Crystal Polk had 14 points and six rebounds while Shug Dickson had 11 points and four rebounds.
The Trojans got off to a slow start as the Golden Hurricane ended the first quarter with a 21-16 lead despite Little Rock having the slightly higher field-goal percentage at 42.9 percent. Keys led Little Rock with five points while the Trojans went 6 for 14 from the field. Tulsa went 2 for 6 from three and 7 for 8 from the foul line to begin the game.
Little Rock looked much better in the second quarter as it outscored Tulsa 18-11. Down 24-18, Little Rock went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead. The Trojans went into the half with a 34-32 lead as Keys improved her game-leading point total to 11 with six rebounds.
Tulsa had its best performance of the game in the third quarter as it outscored Little Rock 22-13. The Golden Hurricane was 8 for 17 from the field while the Trojans were just 2 for 9. Collier and Tori Lasker were a combined 8 for 8 from the charity stripe.
Entering the fourth quarter with a 54-47 deficit, Little Rock wasn't able to get the momentum it needed to go past Tulsa as it was only able to cut the deficit to four. The Golden Hurricane took their largest lead of the game midway through the quarter at 68-54, and from there, the Trojans' deficit never went below 10.
Lasker finished the game with seven points, two assists and had Little Rock's lone three-pointer. Monique Townson and Yanina Inkina each scored five points. Anna Hurlburt and Raeyana DeGray each scored their first bucket of the season while Hurlburt earned four rebounds. Freshman Terrion Moore had four points and four rebounds, and freshman Teal Battle saw her first action of the season with one block and one point.
Little Rock shot just 34.4 percent (21-61) from the field while Tulsa shot 46.2 percent (24-52). The Golden Hurricane had just one more rebound than Little Rock at 39-38. Little Rock ended the game with more blocks (3-1) and steals (6-2) while committing six fewer turnovers (17-11).
The Trojans will now have a week to prepare for their first road trip of the season at No. 19 Texas A&M on Nov. 22.
Appalachian State Women's Basketball Suffers Loss in Valiant Effort
BOONE, N.C. - App State women's basketball (0-3) staged a furious comeback to tie the game going into the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough in a 70-57 defeat to ETSU (2-1) on Wednesday evening in the Holmes Center.
Tierra Wilson paced the Mountaineer offense with a career-high 17 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the field. Wilson scored 13 of her points in the second half and shot 3-of-5 from the floor, a vast improvement from her 2-for-8 performance in the first half. Wilson would also come down with a personal-high six rebounds to go along with two assists. Bayley Plummer had another stellar game rebounding with a game-best 13 off the glass, tying her career high. The sophomore was one point shy of a second consecutive double-double, while she's amassed at least 10 rebounds in all three games this season. Plummer tied a career mark with three blocked shots.
Several Mountaineers would reach career highs in different areas including Lainey Gosnell's eight points off the bench. The freshman led the reserves in scoring en route to a season-high 22 points for the bench. Kaila Craven also contributed to the effort with seven points, six of which came on two 3-pointers. Maya Calder had her best performance of the season in her young career, where she hustled and battled her way in the paint to four points and five off the glass.
Despite the setback, the Mountaineers can take positives away from Wednesday's effort. Appalachian scored a season-high 57 points and assisted on a season-best 16 of 20 field goals (80 percent). Nicola Mathews and LaPresha Stanley each had a team-best four assists while seven different student-athletes chipped in with a helper. Appalachian also protected the ball much better in the second with eight miscues as opposed to the first half with 11 turnovers, and the Black and Gold won the battle on the boards with a 48-41 edge. After making just two 3-pointers on Sunday at Radford, the Black and Gold drained a season-high seven trifectas.
Facing a 38-28 deficit in the third quarter with 6:17 left in the frame, the Black and Gold frontcourt of Plummer, Calder, and Gosnell sparked a 16-6 run with three straight field goals highlighted by Gosnell's corner 3-pointer over a 1:10 span to bring the Apps to within three, 38-35. App State continued the charged when Armani Hampton and Wilson scored the final nine points including one of Wilson's two treys to tie up the contest going into the fourth period.
Appalachian had by far its best quarter in the third stanza as it shot 50 percent from the field and outscored the Bucs, 21-10, holding the visitors to just three-made buckets.
ETSU would recapture the momentum early outscoring the hosts by seven in the first 4:55 of the frame. Wilson stepped up once again with another 3-pointer to bring the Apps to six, 58-52, but the Buccaneers ended the contest on a 12-5 run over the last 3:34 of the game to clinch its first win over App in the last four matchups.
Three players for ETSU scored in double figures with Tianna Tarter pouring in a game-high 22 points, while Eric Haynes-Overton (15 points) and Alayjah Sherer (12 points) rounded out the leading scorers.
App State will look for its first win on Sunday against Davidson at 2 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Tip-Ins
- The 22 points off the bench are the most since the Apps scored 27 against UNC Asheville last season.
- Plummer is the first Mountaineer since Mia Marshall in 2015-16 to record 10 rebounds in three straight games. The Thomasville, N.C. is averaging 12.7 rebounds, 8.0 points, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game through the first three contests of the season.
UTA Tops UTSA In Overtime
SAN ANTONIO - It was a wild night in UT Arlington's first road test, but the Lady Mavericks held on to knock off UTSA 69-68 in overtime on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
Shelby Richards knocked down a crucial free-throw in the final seconds as UTSA's 3-pointer at the buzzer left the Roadrunners a point short. The win lifted UTA to 3-0 for the season, its second consecutive season with perfect start through three games. The win was also the team's second consecutive OT win after it had dropped the previous eight - UTA did not play an overtime game last year.
A game after posting a career-high 22 points on Monday night, senior Crystal Allen was red hot from the field once again. The senior knocked down 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, hitting on six from the charity stripe. Fellow senior Rebekah VanDijk finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Laurynn McGowen scored in double figures for the first time in her UTA career with 10, while Cierra Johnson had 11, all coming in the first quarter before an injury left her out for the remainder.
Neither team appeared to have a complete grasp of the outcome with the lead flying both ways in the fourth quarter. UTSA used a 7-0 run in the final minutes of regulation to take a brief two-point lead, but UTA answered right back with an easy lay in by VanDijk to tie the game.
The Lady Mavs had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but turned the ball over to send it into the extra period.
Overtime proved to be a defensive battle for both sides, UTSA was without a field goal for more than four minutes before the 3-pointer dropped at the buzzer. UTA turned the ball over four times in the final two minutes to limit its ability to pull away.
The Lady Mavs return back to College Park Center for a pair of games during Thanksgiving week. It will be a Metroxplex matchup on Sunday when SMU takes on UTA at 2 p.m. The stand continues on Friday against Fresno State at 2 p.m.
KEY RUNS
First Half: The first quarter went back-and-forth with each team exchanging streaks throughout the frame. It was UTA that was able to jump out of the gate first as Cierra Johnson poured in six during a 9-0 run midway through. However, the Roadrunners came right back to take the lead as an 8-0 spurt pushed the home team in front. UTA got a late score to end the first to take a 17-16 lead.
The second quarter seemed to be all UTSA as the Roadrunners held a 9-point advantage with 2:40 to go in the half. Crystal Allen helped end a scoreless streak for UTA and the defense was just as impressive. UTSA closed the second without a score in the final three minutes, and Allen scored seven to bring the deficit to just two at the break.
Second Half: The glass proved to be a fan of UTA and momentum turned towards the Lady Mavs in the third quarter. Laurynn McGowen got a friendly bounce off the glass on a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. A turnover and scored pushed UTA into the lead, an advantage held onto going into the fourth as the Lady Mavs outscored UTSA 18-12 in the period.
KEY STATS UTA was out rebounded 48-37, however, UTSA turned their 17 offensive rebounds into just 13 points…. UTA shot 40.0 or better from the field for a second consecutive game with right at 40.0 on Wednesday (22-55). … UTA continued to struggle at the line with 20-35 shooting (57.1).
MILESTONE NOTES
Cierra Johnson's first-quarter steal pushed the senior into 15th in Sun Belt history with 250 in her career. Johnson is third in UTA history. With her 11 points, Johnson has 905.