Texas State is still getting used to being in adverse situations.
The team wasn’t able to hold off Louisiana (11-6, 4-2 Sun Belt) inside Strahan Arena on Saturday, falling 73-67. But head coach Zenarae Antoine still liked the progress she saw out of her players.
“The difference in this particular game is that the lead up to it, meaning the preparation, preparing ourselves for the adversity that occurs towards the end, has come into play,” Antoine said. “So we've started to work on that. My expectation wasn't that it was going to happen overnight, but I do feel like there was a calmness when it came down to it. There were a couple times, maybe, we were still a little stressed out and it created some chaos, but there was less of that.”
Antoine noted the team has been working diligently on game-like scenarios in practice. The coaches will put the players in different situations — up with a lot of time, down with a little time, a few timeouts, no timeouts — to try and throw them off their regular rhythm.
“And then their ability to be able to work and communicate is really important because a lot of times it's loud and there's a lot of anxiety that's created at times,” Antoine said. “So creating that environment, even more so, tenfold on us in practice is what's going to get us to a place where we're able to play with some calm.”
The Bobcats began the game building a 36-21 in the first half, thanks in part due to the emergence of freshman forward Chelsea Johnson.
Johnson consistently carved out space inside, either rolling to the rim or posting up on the block, and used an arsenal of soft finishes to put up 12 points over the first two quarters. The forward never missed a shot, going 6-6 from the field.
“In practice, we’ve been working on sealing hard, going up strong,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to think about it. I took my time, I was patient. And so that’s why I was making it.”
Texas State extended the lead to 18 with a 3-pointer from senior guard Brooke Holle. But the Ragin’ Cajuns switched to a full-court press that slowed down the hosts’ offense.
The Bobcats were held to just 30 percent from the floor in the second half after shooting 60 percent in the first half. The team was outscored by the visitors in 52-31 over the final two quarters to end the game with its sixth-straight loss, 73-67.
“When they were getting steals, it kind of made us frantic,” senior guard Bailey Holle said. “And then it was also taking time off the clock for us to get into offense, so then we were maybe playing a little bit more frantic. But it was more so not much of what they did. It was what we did. We needed to get stops and take care of the ball.
Five players finished with double-digit points in Brooke Holle (15), Johnson (14), sophomore forward Da’Nasia Hood (12), sophomore guard Kennedy Taylor (11) and Bailey Holle (10). Brooke Holle led the team with 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
Texas State (7-10, 8-6) will be on the road in Alabama this weekend, facing Troy (14-3, 5-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and South Alabama (9-9, 4-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m. Antoine said she hopes to see her team keep improving in tough situations.
“And when we start just kicking butt in that area in practice, I'll be extremely confident that this team is, you know, ready to roll in these situations.”
