SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (10-5, 3-1 SBC) handled the relentless pressure to hold off Troy (7-8, 2-2 SBC), 83-75, to close out the team's Sun Belt Conference home stand on Saturday afternoon inside of Strahan Coliseum. The win gives the Bobcats two-straight inside the conference and improves its record to 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.

"I told these girls they were in for a battle with this team," said head coach Zenarae Antoine. "Give Troy a lot of credit, they never gave up. They fought until the very end. It was encouraging to see our team compete like that for a full 40 minutes. Every win in the SBC is special and this one is no different."

After building a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Bobcat offense exploded in to start the final stanza, knocking down 3-point attempts on four consecutive possessions. Taeler Deer drained the first three attempts, all from the left wing. Ericka May dropped in her only attempt from the top of the key, pushing the Bobcat lead to 19 points with just under eight minutes to play.

The Trojans used an 11-0 run to bring the score to 79-71 with 44 seconds left in the game. The run took just 1:13 on the game clock. Timely free throw shooting from Deer sealed the win for Texas State.

Texas State saw four starters score 10+ points on the afternoon and were led by guards Taeler Deer and Toshua Leavitt, both netted 23 points. Deer posted game-highs in both assists (10) and steals (seven). She finished the game shooting 7-of-18 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Deer has scored 20 or more points in three contests this season.

Leavitt put on another shooting clinic, splashing home her first seven 3-point attempts of the game. The Missouri product has connected on 69 shots from deep this season, the third highest total in school history for one season. Last year, she made 77 attempts. Joyce Ekworomadu holds the single-season record, making 82 3-pointers during her senior season. For her career, Leavitt has knocked in 186 shots from behind the 3-point line, trailing only Sarah Wagner (196). Leavitt added four steals and three rebounds to her stat line.

Senior forward Ericka May posted her second double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 15 points while ripping down 11 rebounds. She has grabbed 10 or more rebounds on five occasions this season. Ti'Aira Pitts, who was plagued by foul trouble, made the most of her 21 minutes on the court. The senior scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds.

Amber Rivers led the way for the visiting Troy Trojans. The sophomore notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, both team-highs. The Trojans outrebounded the Bobcats, 55-39, marking the largest rebound discrepancy for TXST this season. The battle of the benches also went Troy's way, as the visiting reserves outscored the home team, 35-3.

Texas State was stout defensively, forcing the erratic Trojans into 26 turnovers. The Bobcats turned those extra possessions into 32 points, outdueling Troy in points off of turnover by 11 points. Texas State also limited Troy's run-out opportunities, yielding just two fast break points.  

The Bobcats head east to take on the Arkansas schools next week, first heading to Jonesboro for a clash with the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Game two of the road trip will feature a matchup with the Little Rock Trojans at 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 13.

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