MONROE, La. – A third quarter rally that produced seven 3-pointers in eight shots proved to not be enough as the Texas State women's basketball team fell Saturday afternoon on the road to the UL Monroe Warhawks by a score of 63-59.
 
How It Happened:
Struggling to find the basket in the first quarter, the Bobcats quickly found themselves down 10 after the first 10 minutes of play. That 10-point lead, however, would be the largest of the day for the Warhawks as Texas State rallied back in the second quarter.
 
Down eight with 5:57 to play in the second, freshman guard Toshua Leavitt launched her first of three 3's of the day to ignite a 7-1 Texas State run over the next three and a half minutes to cut the ULM lead down to two. Over the next three minutes, the two teams each produced mini 4-0 runs of their own, ending with the Bobcats as Kaitlin Walla hit a three with 1:36 on the clock and Whitney Apari drained a free throw with just over a second to play before half.
 
ULM built up an eight-point lead once again in the first two a half minutes of the third before Texas State launched seven 3's, three by Walla and two each by Anderson and Leavitt, to storm back and take its first lead of the day with 2:08 left in the third.
 
At the end of the third, Texas State owned a one-point, 47-46 lead over ULM after Anderson hit her second three of the period with 39 seconds on the clock.
 
Anderson begin the fourth with another three, giving Texas State a four-point lead, the largest of the day. The Bobcat lead never grew to any more than four after an Apari lay-up with eight minutes remaining in the game.
 
UL Monroe spent the next six minutes chipping away at the Texas State lead which included a 3-pointer with 5:19 to play by ULM's Ashley Aune to tie the game up at 53-53.
 
With 1:26 on the clock, a pair of free throws by the Warhawks lifted ULM ahead of Texas State for the final time. Texas State ended the game shooting just 1-for-11 from the floor.
 
For the game, Texas State shot 35.7 percent from the floor and after a 2-for-10 start from three, the 'Cats ended the game shooting 10-for-23 (43.5 percent), marking the sixth time this season with at least 10 made 3's for the Bobcats. The Warhawks outrebounded Texas State, 38-26, and the Bobcats turned the ball over 12 times compared to 18 by ULM.
 
Who Stood Out:
For the second-straight game, senior guard Ayriel Anderson led Texas State with 16 points with three made 3's and a 7-for-8 showing from the line … after struggling against UL Lafayette, Walla stormed back with 14 points with a 4-for-7 showing from three … Toshua Leavitt recorded three-straight 3's in the third quarter to finish the day with 11 points … Whitney Apari led the Bobcats with seven rebounds.  
 
What It Means:
The Bobcats fall to 10-9 overall and 5-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. Since joining the Sun Belt in 2013, Texas State has yet to win on the Warhawks home floor. The Bobcats still have two more games on this four-game road trip.
 
Up Next:
Texas State will remain on the road for two more games, this time with a trip to Georgia next week. The 'Cats will take on Georgia State on Feb. 4 before a match-up against Georgia Southern on Feb. 6. Live stats and live audio for both games will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com. The game against Georgia State will also be broadcasted on ESPN3.