Jan. 28, 2009

Final Stats

SAN MARCOS - After just one half of action Victoria Davis was two points shy of recording her first double-double of the season and went on to post 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Texas State Bobcats, but a rapid turnaround from the UTSA Roadrunners cut a 17-point Bobcat lead down to a 56-52 takeover Wednesday night at Strahan Coliseum.

UTSA improves to 4-1 in Southland Conference action and 11-7 overall, while Texas State is now on a three-game losing path, with an 8-10 overall mark and 2-4 league record.

Davis went 4-for-8 in the first half and with 11 rebounds to aid the Bobcats 21-point tally heading into the break. Action opened with three points from UTSA's Amber Gregg, but Davis answered backed by a trey from Mattox for Texas State's first lead of the game.

Gregg broke up the scoring with a second three-point shot, but senior Kim Cessna created an open space under the basket and Davis connected with her for two points, sending Texas State on a 12-4 run and at the 10:52 mark, Davis topped off the charge with an unassisted jumper in the paint to give the Bobcats a 19-10 lead.

Texas State answered each of the Roadrunners points to close out the half to maintain the edge and with just under three minutes remaining in the first stanza, Ryan Bradford sank a basket to give the Bobcats its largest lead of the half, a 29-15 margin. UTSA closed out the final minutes with a 6-3 run, but Texas State claimed a 32-11 halftime score.

The second half started with a pair of free throws from Monica Gibbs and the effort at the stripe set the tone for the remainder of the game. Gibbs went 8-for-12 in the round two, while the Roadrunners shot 16-of-21 from the free throw line to erase any lead the Bobcats had built.

Texas State countered Gibbs pair of shots with three straight buckets to gain a 17-point edge, 40-23, with 16:33 left on the clock, but over the next eight minutes of play UTSA dispatched a devastating 12-5 run that was sealed by a three-pointer from Jordan Stark to put the I-35 rival back in the game.

Two free throws from Gregg put the foe within eight points and Onika Anderson connected on a layup with 6:13 remaining for a 45-39 score. Cessna cut down the scoring streak with a wide-open three-point basket, but the `Runners came back with seven unanswered points, including a second trey from Sparks to come within two of the Bobcats.

Cessna matched Davis with 14 points and snagged five rebounds to close out the game.

The two teams exchanged points until the bonus sent UTSA back to the stripe to aid the effort.

Texas State shot just 1-of-6 in the final half, the team's only appearance at the charity stripe for a 16.7 percent effort.

For the game, the Bobcats shot 42 percent from the floor, with 24 points coming in the paint. Along the perimeter, Texas State capitalized, shooting 42.9 percent on three-point shots.

UTSA was just 28 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc. The team took advantage of the foul shots and connected on 17-of-22 from the stripe, a 77-percent free throw effort.

Gibbs led UTSA with a double-double, finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Stark notched 13 points and 5 rebounds to aid in the winning effort.

Texas State returns to Strahan Coliseum Saturday at 2 p.m. when they play host to the UT Arlington Lady Mavs.