Women's Basketball | 1/11/2017 1:03:00 PM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University women's basketball team takes to the road on Thursday evening for its first Sun Belt Conference game away from San Marcos when the Bobcats face Troy at Trojan Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can viewed nationwide on the WatchESPN platform.
Scene Setter
• Texas State plays its 15th game of the season and fourth Sun Belt Conference tilt of 2016-17 slate on Thurs., Jan. 12 at Troy.
• The Bobcats are 6-8 on the season and average 56.4 points and 18.4 forced turnovers per contest.
• Against Sun Belt competition the Bobcats are shooting 46.6 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent from three, and are averaging a conference-best 9.3 3-pointers per game.
• Texas State enters the game coming off a 61-39 loss to UTA last Saturday (Jan. 7). Troy, which boasts the Sun Belt's top scoring offense at 87.9 points per game, is 10-4 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. The Trojans most recently defeated Georgia Southern 89-86 on Jan. 7.
TXST vs. Troy
• Thursday marks the seventh meeting between Texas State and Troy with the series tied at 3-all. The Bobcats won the first three games in the series and Troy the last three.
• Last season Troy won both meetings --112-79 in Troy and 88-73 in San Marcos.
Last Time Out For the Bobcats
• UTA used a 15-0 run that spanned the latter half of the third quarter and the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter to turn a two-point lead into 17 as the Mavericks defeated Texas State 61-39 in Sun Belt Conference women's basketball action last Saturday afternoon in Strahan Coliseum.
• The Mavericks were led by Rebecca VanDijk's 30-point, 14-rebound double-double. VanDijk, the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, was 13 of 18 from the field and 4 of 5 at the free-throw line in her 33 minutes on the floor. Aysia Evans scored nine for the Mavericks, while Cierra Johnson pulled down 10 rebounds. The visitors closed the game shooting 43.1 percent (25 of 58) and outrebounded the Bobcats 41-23.
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McKinley Bostad led Texas State with 10 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers.
Amber Jones went 4 of 5 from the field and added a free throw for nine points.
Ericka May was TXST's top rebounder with five. The Bobcats shot 32.6 percent (14 of 43) for the game with half their makes coming from three. The Texas State bench outscored its counterpart 24-15.
Running Them Off The Arc
• Texas state leads the Sun Belt with a 3-point field goal percentage defense of 18.2 through three conference games. The Bobcats have conceded only six 3-pointers through three league games.
• The Bobcats defense at the arc limited Coastal Carolina to 2 of 13, Appalachian State to 1 of 8 and UTA to 3 of 12 efforts from deep.
Bostad Versus The Sun Belt
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McKinley Bostad is averaging a team-high 11.0 points per game against Sun Belt Conference foes. She scored 14 points against Coastal, nine against App. State and 10 against UTA.
• Bostad is shooting 62.5 percent (10 of 16) from the floor, 70.0 percent (7 of 10) from three and 60.0 percent (6 of 10 ) at the line in league play.
• In addition to her scoring efforts, the Kennedale, Texas, native is averaging 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal a game against league brethren.
Filling It Up
• Texas State's shooting has improved 10 percentage points since the start of Sun Belt Conference play. The team shot 36.8 percent from the field throughout the nonconferecne portion of the schedule, but are now knocking down 46.6 percent of all attempts against league foes.
• The Bobcats opened Sun Belt play with a season-high 54.5 shooting percent (30 of 55) against Coastal Carolina, then shot even 50 percent (24 of 48) against Appalachian State.
• Sun Belt play has also boosted Texas State's 3-point percentage as the Bobcats are shooting a league-best 50.0 percent from deep against conference competition, compared to 25.8 percent during the nonconference season.
Sun Belt Conference Championship
• The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from the Texas State ticket office. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
