Texas State flipped the switch on again in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats trailed by 15 points through three periods in Thursday’s home game against Coastal Carolina. But the maroon and gold had just pulled off a fourth-quarter rally on Feb. 1 in a 72-55 win over UT Arlington, outscoring the Mavericks 31-11 in the last quarter.
Texas State (8-13, 1-9 Sun Belt) figured it could do the same to the Chanticleers (18-3, 8-2), but ultimately fell short, losing the game 69-59.
“It's not really a switch, it's just more focus,” sophomore forward Da’Nasia Hood said. “But like, we just need to stop playing catch-up and start with that same intensity in the first quarter so that we don’t have to use the fourth quarter to take off.”
Sophomore guard Kennedy Taylor scored a layup on the first possession. On the next trip down, she found Hood at the left wing, who knocked down her 11th-straight 3-pointer, dating back to the hosts’ game against UTA.
“(Hood’s floor spacing) helps a lot,” Taylor said. “I know the other team is always scouting for Da'Nasia and I think that it opens up a lot of opportunities for everyone else.”
The Bobcats sent Coastal Carolina senior center Naheria Williams to the free throw line on the next play. Williams made her first foul shot but missed the second. Hood grabbed the board and sent the outlet pass to Taylor, who zoomed ahead for a fastbreak layup.
The maroon and gold defense forced a stop and Taylor made another trip to the rim to make it a 9-1 run. The Chanticleers called timeout and made a jumper after the break. Senior guard Brooke Holle countered with a triple on the right wing after her defender ducked under a screen.
Texas State found Chelsea Johnson in the post a few plays later and the freshman forward spun to the basket for a layup to cut the lead to 61-56 with 4:27 remaining on the clock. But the team never got any closer.
Hood missed her first trey in three games and later fouled out of the game, along with Holle. The visitors doused the hosts’ fiery comeback attempt and sealed the 69-59 victory.
“The progress that I've seen from this team is what I said last time, you know, winners never quit and quitters never win. This team just keeps battling, they aren't going to stop, there's a high level of competence, I would say, it's really catapulted,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “We went in that fourth quarter, there's a lot of confidence there. You know, I'm disappointed in the way some things played out but this is the way the game works. And if you can't play within the game, then the game is going to get you. And I think that's where the struggle was there at the end.”
Hood led the team with 18 points, followed by Taylor with 14 and Holle with 12 — who also posted a team-high eight rebounds.
The Bobcats took on Appalachian State (6-15, 3-7) inside Strahan Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game ended after press time. Antoine said she expected her team to bounce back.
“You know, they look different in that they don't have the same amount of depth as Coastal does, but they're also a team who's, you know, doing a pretty good job here recently in finding ways (to play),” Antoine said. “The dust will settle tonight and we gotta regroup tomorrow because, you know, we have a pretty tough Appalachian State team coming in here that we need to prepare for.”
