SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team suffered its first setback at home during the 2015-16 season Saturday afternoon with a 74-59 loss to Arkansas State, the first-place team in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
How It Happened:
The flow of the game between the Bobcats and the Red Wolves started off rather balanced, as neither team built more than a four-point lead in the first eight minutes of action. The Red Wolves, however, produced a 13-3 run at the end of the first to take an eight point, 21-13 advantage.
 
A key player for Arkansas State in the midst of its run was Jessica Flanery, as she went 3-for-4 from three in the first quarter. Flanery ultimately finished with a career night at Strahan Coliseum by draining six 3's for the Red Wolves while finishing with a floor-high 24 points.
 
The Bobcats battled back in the second quarter to outscore Arkansas State 18-15, cutting the A-State lead to five at intermission. The five-point lead for Arkansas State at the half matched the smallest lead at the half since beginning conference play for the Red Wolves.
 
Texas State finished the second quarter shooting 58.3 percent led by Ayriel Anderson with a pair of 3-pointers. The Bobcats cut the Red Wolves lead to as little as two in that second quarter when Anderson hit her second three of the quarter with 1:21 on the clock.
 
The conference's first-place team took control in the third as a 19-2 run throughout the heart of the quarter built up a 19-point lead for the visiting Red Wolves.
 
Trailing 61-46 coming into the fourth quarter, Texas State would not go down without a fight on its home court. A jumper by Taeler Deer followed up by a steal by Toshua Leavitt and back-to-back 3's by Kaitlin Walla ignited an 8-0 Texas State run to come within 10, 67-57, of Arkansas State with 4:56 left in the game. That proved to be as close as the Bobcats comeback would come as Arkansas State answered a jumper by Aundrea Gamble and a free throw by Amanda Lawson to back up 13.
 
The Bobcats shot better from the floor, 46.2 to 40.8 percent, than the Red Wolves, but were outrebounded 42-28. The 'Cats also hit 10 3-pointers on the day, making that the fifth time this season with at least 10 3's in a game.
 
Who Stood Out: Raven Burns led all Bobcats with 13 points, a mark that matches her career-high … Burns made three, 3's for Texas State to put her up to 24 on the year, another total that ties a previous season-high set her junior year … Burns also made three 3-pointers in the game, making that the fourth game with at least that many made 3's … Ayriel Anderson finished the day going 3-for-3 from long-range, making that just the third game this year with three of them made … Ericka May finished the day with four blocks which surpassed her career-high of two … May led the Bobcats with eight rebounds.
 
What It Means: Texas State falls to 9-8 on the year and 4-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. The loss moves the Bobcats to 1-5 all-time against Arkansas State. The next match-up against the Red Wolves will be in Jonesboro on Feb. 25. This loss also snapped a seven-game winning streak for Texas State at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats are now 7-1 at home this year.
 
Up Next: The Bobcats will hit the road again for four-straight, beginning with UL Lafayette on Thursday, Jan. 28. Tip-off against the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 5 p.m. at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La. Live stats and live audio will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.