Women's Basketball | 2/8/2017 11:15:00 AM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University women's basketball returns to Strahan Coliseum at Noon on Thursday to face Arkansas State. The game will be the Bobcats' annual Academy Sports & Outdoors Youth Basketball Day with nearly 2,000 elementary and middle school students from the greater San Marcos area in attendance.
Scene Setter
• Texas State plays its 22nd game and 11th Sun Belt Conference tilt of 2016-17 slate on Thurs., Feb. 9 against Arkansas State.
• The Bobcats are 11-10 on the season, including 6-4 in Sun Belt play, and boast the Sun Belt's second-best scoring defense at 59.0 points per game.
• Texas State enters the contest 4-1 in its last five games. Most recently the Bobcats won 75-69 at UTA last Saturday (Feb. 4). Arkansas State which is 3-8 in conference play, holds a 5-18 overall record. The Red Wolves most recently fell 81-72 in overtime to Appalachian State (Feb. 4).
TXST vs. A-St
• Thursday marks the seventh meeting between Texas State and Arkansas State with the Red Wolves holding a 5-1 series advantage.
• Last season Arkansas State won 74-59 in San Marcos and 87-50 in Jonesboro.
Last Time Out For the Bobcats
• A near 50 percent shooting effort, a plus-10 margin in the rebound column along with a season-high 25 points from
Taeler Deer and another 20 from
Toshua Leavitt led Texas State to a 75-69 upset at UTA Saturday afternoon in Sun Belt women's basketball action.
• The Bobcats, which improved to 11-10 overall and 6-4 in the Sun Belt, finished the game shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (26 of 54), while limiting UTA to 42.1 percent on 24 of 57 from the field. The Bobcats outrebounded the Mavericks 40-30 and outscored the larger UTA squad 28-26.
• In addition to Deer and Leavitt, the Bobcats received double-digit performances from
Erin Peoples (11 points) and Erick May, who posted her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards.
• UTA (15-5, 8-2 Sun Belt) had five players finish in double-figures led by Rebekah VanDijk's 14. Crystal Allen scored 13, while Christina Devers, Cierra Johnson and Lauren Billie contributed 12, 11 and 10, respectively. The loss by the Maverick's was just their second on their College Park Center floor this season and first at home to a Sun Belt Conference member.
Noteworthy Performances
•Texas State led for 36:36 of play and stretched its advantage to as much as 21 midway through the third quarter.
Season-High 25 For Deer
•
Taeler Deer scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Bobcats to a 75-69 win at UTA (Feb. 4). She scored nine points in the first half, then scored 16 in the second half (nine in the third quarter and seven in the fourth).
• Her most impactful basket of the game came via a 3-pointer at the 4:42 mark that stretched TXST's lead back to 14 points after UTA had trimmed it to nine.
• Deer's 25-point outing was her third game of the season and fourth of her career of 20-plus points. The junior went 9 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, and 4 of 6 at the free-throw line.
Leavitt Goes For 20 ... And Again
• Sophomore guard
Toshua Leavitt scored a career-high 20 points at Coastal Carolina (Jan. 28). She finished the game 7 of 18 from the field (5 of 15 3FG).
• She followed that performance with 20 points at UTA (Feb. 4). The Nixa, Mo., native went 5 of 12 from the field (4 of 11 3FG).
• Leavitt, who leads the Bobcats with 44 made threes this season, ranks second in the Sun Belt and 141th in the NCAA at 2.1 3-pointers per game.
• The sophomore is nine treys shy of cracking the TXST single season top-10 list.
TXST Single Season 3-Point FG Made
1. Joyce Ekworomadu (2007-08).... 82
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7.
Raven Burns (2015-16)................ 54
8. Chris Ferrell (1989-90)................ 53
Julie Brooks (2002-03)................. 53
Kaitlin Walla (2015-16)................ 53
Bobcats Win Four Of Five
• Texas State had won four straight, marking its longest winning streak of the season, before falling at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 28. However, the Bobcat resumed their winning ways at week later with a road upset at UTA (Feb. 4).
• During the 4 of 5 run, the Bobcats are averaging 60.2 points per game, while limiting opponents to 52.0.
• The four straight wins for the Bobcats were the first since 2013-14 squad reeled off four consecutive from March 1-12, 2014. Texas State last won five straight from Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 2014 (all Southland Conference games).
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.
