SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State fell 66-62 in overtime to Eastern Washington in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Thursday evening inside Strahan Coliseum.
The loss ends the Bobcats' season at 16-15 (11-7 Sun Belt), while Eastern Washington improves to 19-13 (12-6 Big Sky) and advances to the WBI quarterfinal round against Idaho.
The Eagles used a 7-0 run in the early stages of overtime to create separation on the scoreboard, then hung on down the stretch to come away with their second national postseason win.
Ashley Payne led Eastern Washington with a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double – both of which were game-highs. Delany Hodgins, Violet Kapri Morrow and Tisha Phillips each finished with nine for the Eagles. EWU closed the game making 24 of 58 field goal attempts (41.4 percent).
Kaitlin Walla scored 16 points – all in the first half – to lead the Bobcats. Taeler Deer, Erin Peoples and Ti'Aira Pitts also reached double-figures with 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ericka May paced the Bobcats on the board with 10.
TXST shot 42.6 percent overall (26 of 61), won the battle on the boards 38-36 and outscored the Eagles 34-26 in the paint.
Texas State made 10 of its 14 shot attempts in the opening quarter on its way to a 24-15 lead after 10 minutes of play. Walla led the Bobcats' offensive output with 11 points on 4 of 6 from the floor, including a pair of threes. Payne scored nine for Eagles in the period, knocking down three field goals and two free throws.
Walla scored five more points in the second quarter to up her first-half total to 16, helping the Bobcats take a 38-28 lead into the intermission. TXST led 36-20 after a Bailey Holle's fast-break layup at the 4:40 mark. Eastern Washington outscored the home team 8-2 throughout the remainder of the half to close the Bobcats' lead to 10 at the half.
May scored on back-to-back possessions to start the second half, but the Bobcats would go cold over the next five-plus minutes as Eastern Washington went to a 13-0 run to cut TXST's lead to one at 42-41. The Eagles' run featured a trio of 3-pointers, including two by Payne.
Peoples halted the Bobcats' shooting woes with a score inside at the 3:12 mark of the third quarter, but the Eagles continued to counter with scores of their own to keep the game at one possession. Eastern Washington broke through and took the lead at 49-48 on Amira Chandler's mid-range jumper as the third-quarter clock expired.
The teams combined for 13 points in the third quarter as Texas State forced overtime with the score knotted 55-55. EWU took a 55-54 lead with 4:34 to go in regulation, but would not score the rest of the quarter. Pitts tied the game at the free-throw line at the 2:56 mark, but the Bobcats were unable to find the go-ahead basket.
Deer knocked down the first shot of overtime, pushing TXST up 57-55; however, the Eagles reeled off the game's next seven points to regain the advantage at 62-57. Peoples cut the TXST deficit to 62-60 with a 3-pont play with 37 seconds to go. EWU's Payne then split two free throws and Deer answered with a driving layup with eight seconds to go, bringing the score to 63-62. However, EWU's Phillips made three free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
The game was the last for redshirt senior Erin Peoples. The Little Rock, Ark., native finishes her career 11th on TXST career scoring list with 1,122 points, second in blocks (75), third in steals (197), and eighth in rebounding (713). She started 108 of 113 career games played and was honored as an All-WAC All-Newcomer Team member and a Second Team All-Sun Belt selection during her time in San Marcos.
-- TXSTATEBOBCATS.COM –
