The end of Texas State’s season left the maroon and gold disappointed. But it’s also got them excited about what the future might hold.
The No. 4 West Division seed Bobcats completed a 17-point comeback in the second half of Saturday’s second-round matchup against No. 1 East seed Troy in the Sun Belt tournament. Texas State sent the game into overtime but couldn’t earn the upset, getting bounced by the Trojans, 103-90.
“There's so much that the student-athletes have accomplished in playing in this very unusual year,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “Especially being a team out of Texas, who, combined with COVID, we had Winter Storm Uri as well — and some people are still recovering within our state from that. And our athletes being able to play through that, having to attend class, study on the road, travel, find ways to stay healthy in order to play, you know, my hats go off to my athletes and my coaching staff for everything they've been through. And to get our team to work to where we are, I am proud of that.”
Troy (20-5, 15-2 Sun Belt), the No. 1 rebounding team in the NCAA, dominated on the boards all throughout the game. Texas State (11-11, 7-8) struggled to get its shots going in the first half, shooting just 9-30 from the field, and rarely got a second opportunity to score.
Trojans senior forward Alexus Dye went into halftime with 18 points and 9 rebounds as the Bobcats trailed, 48-31, the largest lead of the game.
But as the third quarter began, Bobcats junior point guard Kennedy Taylor became more assertive. She began the second half by sinking a 3-pointer and followed it up with a layup to trim the lead down to 50-36. As she began heating up, her teammates found the seams in Troy’s defense.
“I think we were fairly positive just because we knew we weren't doing the things that we needed to do,” senior guard Avionne Alexander said. “So when we got in the locker room, we just talked about, once we start slowing them down and getting rebounds, we would be fine and we would pull back in the game.”
Junior forward Da’Nasia Hood, the team’s leading scorer, had an off game, making just one of her 14 shot attempts. Antoine turned to freshman forward Nicole Leff to try and make up some of Hood’s production. The rookie responded with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
“Nicole, she did a phenomenal job tonight,” Antoine said. “She said it felt good when she had an opportunity to play, she had an opportunity to play last night as well. And you know, anytime your player says, ‘Yeah, it feels good,’ you want to get them out there and you want to get them out there early, so they can continue that that positive mojo.”
Leff was one of four Texas State players who finished in double figures, joining Taylor with a career-high 28, junior guard Ja’Kayla Bowie — whose 23 points topped the career-high 19 scored set the day before — and redshirt sophomore forward Lauryn Thompson with 13.
The Bobcats cut the deficit down to 67-59 by the end of the third quarter, repeatedly finishing at the rim and not allowing the Trojans to do the same at the other end. Texas State was outscored by Troy in the paint 26-14 in the first half, but outscored the Trojans 32-12 in the lane in the second half.
The maroon and gold were still down six with 3:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Layups from Leff and Thompson and a jumper from Taylor tied the game up at 80-80 with just under two minutes to go. Taylor drew a foul and went 1-2 at the line to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game.
But Trojans senior guard Jasmine Robinson earned a trip to the stripe on the next possession and hit both of her foul shots. Taylor got to the free throw line again, made her first shot to tie the game back up at 82-82 with a minute to go, then missed her second. Both teams had the opportunity to take the lead in the closing moments of the game, but both sides missed their shots, sending it into overtime.
Troy ran up a seven-point lead in the first two minutes of the extra period and hung on for the 103-90 win.
“I was definitely pleased. As I went into this season, this is the team that I envisioned,” Antoine said. “The future is going to be really competitive and I'm just really excited about that.”
This year’s conference tournament run was the deepest of the Bobcats’ past three seasons. Alexander is the only senior on the roster and, with the NCAA not counting this year toward winter athletes’ eligibility, the door is open for Antoine to bring back the entire roster.
But after a year like Texas State had, dealing with a global pandemic, a once-in-a-generation winter storm and all the other things athletes have going on, Antoine wants her players to rest now. They’ll try to pick up where they left off next season.
