Women's Basketball | 12/30/2017 9:00:00 AM
CONWAY, SC – Texas State women's basketball, coming off of a convincing win at Appalachian State, will be back on the court for its second Sun Belt Conference clash in three days. The Bobcats will take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. Tip from the HTC Center is scheduled for noon CDT on Dec. 31.
Last Time Out for the Bobcats
• Texas State found the winning formula, topping the Appalachian State Mountaineers by a score of 69-54 on Dec. 29. The win snaps a season-high two game losing streak and gives the Bobcats a 1-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play.
• Taeler Deer led the Bobcats in scoring for the second straight contest. The senior guard tallied 29 points, her second 20-point game of the season, the other being her 44-point explosion in the season-opening win over Texas Tech. Deer also chipped in four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
• The Bobcats shot 23-of-37 (62.2-percent) from inside the 3-point line against the Mountaineers, including 26 points inside the paint. TXST outran ASU, winning the transition battle, 11-0.
Bobcats for Three
• Texas State caught team-fire against UTSA on Dec. 5, knocking down a school-record 15 3-point field goals on 30 attempts. The record stood for just 12 days as TXST drilled 16-of-28 attempts in the win over Sam Houston State on Dec. 17.
• The Bobcats have been dynamic from deep all season, draining 9.4 3-point shots per contest, which ranks No. 18 in the NCAA.
• Toshua Leavitt leads the 3-point barrage for the Bobcats this season, netting 46 shots from deep this season. Her 3.83 made triples per contest tops the SBC ranks and is sixth in the NCAA.
• In total, a quartet of Bobcats have converted at least 10 3-point attempts, while nine have made at least one shot from behind the arc this season. Four Bobcats shoot at or above 40.0-percent from behind the arc.
• The team is shooting 35.5-percent from deep, which tops the conference and is within the top-75 in the country. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bobcats surrender makes on just 26.9-percent of shots from long range, which ranks second in the conference and No. 33 in the nationally.
Leavitt, Deer Climb Up the Record Books
• In just her third season at Texas State, junior guard Toshua Leavitt has found herself in a tie for fourth most career made 3-point attempts with 163. She most recently eclipsed the fifth-place mark of 154, set by the great Joyce Ekworomadu. Leavitt's next 3-pointer will put her in fourth, passing Chris Ferrell (163).
• Leavitt trails only Ekworomadu in 3-pointers in a season after knocking down 77 triples as a sophomore. Joyce connected on 82 triples during the 2007-08 season.
• Taeler Deer leads the Sun Belt Conference in assists this season with 6.1 per contest. Deer is also climbing up the school's record book. Through 12 games, the senior has tallied 73 assists, giving her 289 career dimes. She eclipsed Dawn Bolner (286) for third in Bobcat history. Next in her sights in Ayriel Anderson (348), she needs 60 more assists this season to pass Anderson.
Sun Belt Conference Basketball
• The 2017-18 Sun Belt Conference season has arrived. For the second straight season, the Bobcats will play the Carolina schools to open up conference play. A season ago, TXST topped Coastal Carolina in the SBC opener, 83-62 at Strahan Coliseum. In the second game of the set, the Bobcats fell in heartbreaking fashion, 66-64, to Appalachian State.
• Texas State topped the Mountaineers on Dec. 29 by a score of 69-54. The game marked the seventh time this season that an opponent failed to reach 60 points on the Bobcat defense.
• The Bobcats and Chanticleers also split the season series last year. TXST was on the losing side of a 64-48 score in the last matchup in South Carolina.
Quest for 100
• Coach Z inched a little closer with career win No. 96 as the head coach of the Texas State women's basketball team. Only three coaches in program history have guided the women's basketball program to 100 wins: Suzanne Fox (1997-2011), Judy Rinker (1966-75) and Linda Sharp (1989-1997). In her first season at Texas State, the 2011-12 campaign, she led one of the best turnarounds in school history, taking a 9-20 team the year before, to 17-14, including the school's first conference tournament win since 2003. During her run at TXST, Coach Z has averaged nearly 15 wins per season and has taken the Bobcats to the WBI in three of the last four seasons.
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