NEW ORLEANS – The Texas State women's basketball team (23-8, 14-4 SBC) narrowly escaped Louisiana (17-16, 10-8 SBC), 62-56, inside Lakefront Arena in the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinal round on Saturday evening.

"What a hard fought battle," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "I think our team, especially our upperclassmen, understands that Lafayette plays with phenomenal energy. We have understood for a long time that coach Broadhead and his teams do not stop, they keep fighting and keep working hard. Understanding that is part of the battle when you are in this type of situation in postseason. I am really proud of my kids."

As was the case in the previous two matchups between Texas State and Louisiana, Saturday's game turned into a slugfest. Although the Bobcats led for over 38 minutes of game action, the Cajuns never backed down. Texas State's biggest lead of the game came with 4:13 left in the fourth quarter: a 12-point cushion for the Bobcats. LA responded with a 9-0 run that spanned 3:08 on the clock. The Cajun spurt dwindled the Bobcat lead to 56-53 with just over a minute on the game clock.

After a defensive stop, Ericka May ripped down her 10th rebound of the game to secure possession for Texas State. In the final 30 seconds of play the Bobcats made all six free throw attempts, including two each from May, Taeler Deer and Toshua Leavitt to seal the game. In total, the Bobcats converted all 13 free throw attempts in the contest.

Coach Antoine's squad was led by Deer, who poured in a game-high 21 points and dished out seven assists. The senior guard connected on 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including all three of her 3-point attempts. She has scored 20-plus points in both tournament games this week.

Deer was accompanied in the 20-point club by Leavitt, who scored 20 points on 6-of-18 from the floor. She buried five 3-point attempts, giving her 133 makes for the season, the second highest total in the NCAA this season. Leavitt has scored 20 or more points in 12 games during the 2017-18 campaign.

Despite the heavy pressure applied by the Cajun defense, the Bobcats surrendered only 10 turnovers in the game. LA coughed up 16 turnovers, and the Bobcats turned the extra possessions into 16 points.

Up next, Texas State squares off with the top seeded Little Rock Trojans for the Sun Belt Conference championship. Little Rock defeated Troy 66-63 in the other semifinal matchup. Tip is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. CDT and the game will be streamed live on WatchESPN/ESPN3. The full bracket can be viewed here.

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