Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – No. 1 seed UALR led from start to finish in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, downing the Bobcats 87-44.
UALR, which entered the game ranked No. 32 in the country in RPI, jumped on the Bobcats from the start, getting out to a 17-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Trojans utilized hot shooting, going 6-of-7 to start the game, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Texas State regained its footing midway through the first half, led by a jumper from Erin Peoples, which was her 1,000th career point. It started a 5-0 run for the Bobcats to close the deficit to 27-11. Defensively, the Bobcats held the Trojans without a point for over three minutes during the run.
UALR responded with a 7-1 run of its own to retake a 22-point advantage, en route to holding a 44-23 halftime advantage. The Trojans shot 53.3 percent for the first half and 54.1 percent for the game.
The second half saw UALR continue its streak over the Bobcats, which grew its largest lead of the season. The Trojans, which beat LSU and Oklahoma in non-conference, was led by All-Sun Belt Second Team player Alexius Dawn who finished with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 6-of-8 from three-point range.
Texas State was led in scoring by Kileah Mays and Taeler Deer who each had eight points.
Texas State will now await their postseason fate, with their current record at 17-14 and an RPI of 140. The Bobcats own wins this year over Arkansas State and Troy along with a season sweep of UT Arlington, which the team knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament. This is the third time in Zenarae Antoine's four-year career at Texas State, the team has accumulated 16 or more wins.
