Women's Basketball | 3/15/2017 1:00:00 PM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University women's basketball hosts the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational against Eastern Washington Thursday at 5 p.m. The postseason appearance is the Bobcats sixth as an NCAA Division I program and third in the last four years.
Scene Setter
• Texas State plays its 31st game of the season in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational Thursday against Eastern Washington.
• The Bobcats are 16-14 on the season and finished the Sun Belt regular season 11-7. Eastern Washington enters the game 18-13 overall and also finished fourth in the Big Sky, posting a 12-6 record.
• Texas State most recently fell 66-64 to Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship quarterfinal. Eastern Washington lost 61-59 in the Big Sky Championship semifinal to Montana State.
TXST vs. Eastern Washington
• Thursday marks the first meeting between Texas State and Eastern Washington in the sport of women's basketball.
Last Time Out For the Bobcats
• Despite a program single-game record-tying seven 3-pointers from
Toshua Leavitt, Texas State was unable to rally from Louisiana's game-changing 21-4 run in the third quarter as the fifth-seeded Ragin' Cajuns downed the fourth-seeded Bobcats 66-64 in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Championship on last Thursday afternoon in New Orleans.
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Kaitlin Walla tied the game at 64-64 with four second to play on a 3-pointer from the left wing; however, Louisiana's Simone Fields found room inside and banked in the game-winning shot from three feet away with two seconds showing on the clock.
•Texas State fell to 16-14 overall with the loss, while Louisiana improved to 19-10 and advanced to the tournament's semifinal round against top-seeded Little Rock on Saturday.
• Leavitt led all scorers with her 21 points – all in the first half – on her seven 3-pointers. Joining Leavitt in double-figures were
Amber Jones and
Erin Peoples with 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Bobcats closed the game shooting 45.5 percent (25 of 55) from the field and 51.1 percent (8 of 14) from deep.
• Four Ragin' Cajuns scored in double-figures, led by Jaylyn Gordon's 17. Jasmin Thomas scored 15, while Nekia Jones and Kimberly Burton added 11 each. Louisiana closed the contest shooting 403 percent (25 of 62) and outscored the Bobcats 38-22 in the paint.
Noteworthy Performances
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Toshua Leavitt's seven 3-pointers raised her season total to 77, which is five shy of equaling the TXST single-season record of 82 by Joyce Ekworomadu (2007-08).
• The game was only the fourth time this season the Bobcats fell after leading at the half.
Texas State In the National Postseason
• Texas State is making its third postseason appearance in the last four years. The Bobcats also played in the WBI in both 2014 and 2015, falling in the opening round each time.
• Overall Thursday marks the programs sixth postseason appearance. The program advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and 2003 along with an NIT appearance in 2008.
• Texas State is 0-5 all-time in national postseason tournament play.
Texas State National Postseason History
1997 NCAA First Round at Texas L, 38-66
2003 NCAA First Round vs. LSU L, 50-86
2008 NIT First Round at Texas Tech L, 49-82
2014 WBI First Round at Stephen F. Austin L, 51-59
2015 WBI First Round vs. Oral Roberts L, 54-57
Potential Matchup
• The winner of Thursday's WBI first round game between Texas State and Eastern Washington advances to face the winner of Idaho/Utah State in the quarterfinal round on either Sunday or Monday.
Three Postseason Berths In Last Four Seasons
• As previously mentioned the Bobcats are making their third postseason appearance in the last four seasons under the direction of head coach
Zenarae Antoine.
• Over the past four seasons the Bobcats are a combined 61-64 with three .500 or better seasons. 16-16 in 2013-14, 17-15 in 2014-15 and a 16-14 record through 30 games this year.
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Toshua Leavitt tied the Texas State single-game 3-point field goals made record with seven in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Championship on March 9. The sophomore, who finished 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, knocked down all seven of her triples in the first half to equal the efforts of former Bobcats Sarah Wagner (Dec. 3, 1996 vs. Texas Southern) and Chris Ferrell (Feb. 3, 1990 vs. Sam Houston State) for the best in Texas State history. The seven treys were one shy of tying Sun Belt Championship record of eight by Leslie Logsdon of Western Kentucky vs. Middle Tennessee State in 2003.
Leavitt For THREE ... Closing In On The Record
• Sophomore guard
Toshua Leavitt leads the Bobcats and Sun Belt Conference with 77 made 3-pointers this season.
• Her 77 3-pointers are second on the TXST single-season list, trailing only Joyce Ekworomadu's 82 during the 2007-08 campaign.
• Leavitt has made four or more triples 12 times this season, including in five of the last seven games.
• She set a career-high with seven treys against Louisiana on March 9 in the Sun Belt quarterfinal.
• She has shot better than 40.0 percent from beyond the arc in 14 contests, including a season-best 83.3 percent (5 of 6) against South Alabama on Feb. 23.
• Leavitt enters the WBI ranked 52 in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (2.57), 58th in 3-pointers made (77), 66th in 3-pointers attempted (208) and 84th in 3-point field goal percentage (37.0).
TXST Single Season 3-Point FG Made
1. Joyce Ekworomadu (2007-08) 82
2. Toshua Leavitt (2016-17) 77
Deer Named All-Sun Belt Third Team Selection
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Taeler Deer was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team.
• The junior earned her first career all-conference honor as she averaged a career-high 10.8 points per game to lead the Bobcats and rank 18th in the Sun Belt. During the regular season, she ranked second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50) and 3-point field goal percentage (45.7), fifth in goal percentage (48.0), seventh in assists (3.3) and 14th in steals (1.6). Moreover, she posted the conference's most prolific 3-point shooting performance of the season, going a perfect 6 of 6 at Prairie View A&M on Dec. 16.
• Deer finished the regular season reaching double figures in 15 games, including a Bobcat-best 25 in the team's win at UTA on Feb. 4. She led the Bobcats in scoring 15 times, while shooting 50 percent or better from the floor on 16 occasions. The Houston native also posted a team-high 96 assists, including a career-best 11 against ULM on Jan. 19.
Tickets
• Tickets, which gain admission to both the women's WBI game and men's game against Lamar in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), are $10 for general admission, $15 for reserved seats and $25 for floor seats. Student will be able to attend the game for free with a valid school ID. Season ticket holders will have an opportunity to renew their seats for the postseason through Thursday at noon. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online at
TXStateBobcats.com/tickets.
