The Bobcats had seen a 1-3-1 press before, but not one as effective as Alcorn State’s.
The Lady Braves force 26.7 turnovers per game, the highest number among all NCAA Division I schools. It stifled Texas State’s offense early on in Monday’s game inside Strahan Arena. By the end of the first quarter, the maroon and gold had been turned over six times, outrebounded 9-8 and trailed the visitors, 14-12.
Head coach Zenarae Antoine reaffirmed to her team what needed to happen to break the press heading into the second quarter.
“We needed to move the ball by making a pass versus dribbling,” Antoine said. “I keep saying, you know, ‘Don't make the home run pass, stop making a slam dunk pass, do not make that pass. Just make the short, quick passes that we talked about, we're gonna be able to move the ball up the floor.’”
The hosts eventually settled into the trapping scheme and found open shooters in the midrange, winning 67-59.
“I think we did OK,” sophomore forward Da’Nasia Hood said. “We've still got to work on trying to take care of the ball a limit turnovers. I mean, credit to Alcorn because they're very good at that, but we still gotta do our part and just take care of the ball and limit our turnovers. Because that's what hurt us and kept them in the game.”
Da’Nasia Hood, the Bobcats’ leading scorer, struggled to find her shot in the first half, missing all four of her field goal attempts. She went to work on the glass instead, helping Texas State take the rebounding advantage by the end of the second quarter, 22-16, with seven boards coming from the sophomore forward.
“Just from the sideline, in the timeouts, coach is telling me to crash,” Hood said. “We've been working a lot on that in practice, so just trying to emphasize that and work on that part of my game and get better at that to help our team.”
With Hood in a slump, junior forward Jayla Johnson came in off the bench to pick up the scoring load. Johnson scored 10 points in the second quarter on 5-5 shooting. Alcorn State’s defense usually left the short corners open — Johnson’s sweet spot.
Johnson’s spark gave the maroon and gold the lead back by halftime, up 33-31.
“(I was) just flashing to the open areas and not being quick, like I normally am,” Johnson said. “I was just being patient.”
Texas State began pulling away in the third quarter, building a 20-point lead. Antoine emptied her bench, subbing out sophomore guard Kennedy Taylor for freshman guard Jessica Paz Y Puente at the 2:55 mark with the Bobcats ahead 65-46.
The Lady Braves made a last-ditch comeback effort against the backup unit, hitting four consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 14-2 run to end the game. The hosts hung on to take the 67-59 win.
Johnson led the team with 18 points, the second-most in any game of her career. She was followed by Taylor with 16 to go along with six rebounds and eight assists and junior guard Avionee Alexander with a personal-best 12. Hood got back in rhythm in the second half, scoring eight points, and finished the game with 14 rebounds and three assists, both career highs.
“And we needed that tonight, Da'Nasia,” Antoine told her player. “She did a great job. We needed her to rebound, that's something we've talked a lot about. But specifically, Da'Nasia and I have talked about what it is we need her to do for our team to be successful. And 14 rebounds is excellent.”
The final non-conference game of the year kept Texas State perfect inside Strahan Arena with a 6-0 home record. The Bobcats will stay home this Thursday to begin Sun Belt play against Little Rock (2-9) at 7 p.m.
Antoine feels confident with where her team is at this point of the season, but always feels a little anxious matching up with the Trojans.
“When we go up against Little Rock, I kind of feel like it doesn't really matter what the record is for either team,” Antoine said. “There's a certain level of focus that our team brings and a certain level of excitement of playing a team that's you know, a traditional powerhouse. I look forward to scouting with our team right now and coming up with a game plan that will work.”
