SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (6-4) closes out non-conference play and the decade as it plays host to Alcorn State (4-7) at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 30. Brant Freeman and Suzanne Fox will have the call on ESPN+ and Clint Shields has the radio play-by-play call on 89.9 KTSW and txstatebobcats.com.
#BobcatBits
- The Bobcats are a perfect 5-0 inside Strahan Arena this year and will play their first home tilt in 26 days. TXST is averaging 67.4 points per game at home, 5.7 points better than its overall season average. The Bobcats are closing out the decade at home and are 88-57 in San Marcos from 2010-19.
- Texas State is 5-5 in its last 10 non-conference regular season finales. Last season it downed Texas A&M-International 89-25 at home to close non-conference play.
- Texas State is looking to claim a winning record for the second straight month after going 4-2 in November.
- Head coach Zenarae Antoine is in her ninth season and has amassed 131 wins. She is the fourth head coach in program history to reach the benchmark and is seven wins from tying Linda Sharp (1989-97) for third-most victories in school history.
- The Bobcat defense allowed 70 points by the opposition in back-to-back contests, but is one of the better turnover generating teams in the nation. The Bobcats average 21.3 turnovers forced per game which is 26th in the NCAA and leads the Sun Belt. Texas State has excelled in winning the turnover battle this year and rank 26th nationally and lead the Sun Belt with a +6.20 turnover margin.
- According to HerHoopStats, the Bobcats defense turns their opponent over on 24.4% of their possessions, which ranks 25th in the country. HerHoopStats only factors in contests against Division I competition.
- The Bobcats are 5-0 at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season when they opened 7-0 in San Marcos. Texas State won four home games in November for the first time since 2005-06.
- During the last five seasons, the Bobcats possess a 19-4 record in home non-conference games.
- Texas State has held four non-conference opponents under 50 points for the first time since it held five under the mark in 2006-07.
Taylor Enjoying Hot Sophomore Start
Sophomore guard Kennedy Taylor's 4.6 assists per game and 46 total assists lead the Sun Belt Conference. The point guard also ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.44 assist turnover ratio. Taylor has scored in double figures in four of the last seven games and is third on the team averaging 9.7 points per game. She posted a career-best 22 points in the Dec. 4 overtime win over I-35 Rival UTSA and in her last game tied her career high with three made three-point field goals. The Dallas, Texas native has been one of the most durable plays in the Sun Belt this year and is fifth among conference leaders in minutes played per game (33.3).
Holle Twins Lead the Bobcats in Senior Seasons
Twin sister senior guards Brooke and Bailey Holley both place in the top four in SBC steal totals. Brooke is second in steals per game (2.6) and total steals (26) while Bailey is fourth in both steals per game (2.1) and total steals (21). Brooke has registered a steal in every game this year and has notched two five steal contests against UTSA and Morgan State. Brooke Holle is attempting to become the 19th player in Texas State women's basketball history to accumulate 1,000 career points. Holle has scored 808 points during her four seasons for the Maroon and Gold and has netted 300-plus points in each of the last two complete seasons. She has made 110-of-345 (31.9 percent) of her three-point attempts during her career and needs just eight triples to crack the top-10 list for career made three-pointers at Texas State. Toshua Leavitt (2015-19) is the Sun Belt Conference and Texas State career leader with 363 triples. Brooke is the team's active career leader in points (808), rebounds (447), assists (143) and steals (118). She leads the team in rebounding this year (6.1 rpg) and is second in scoring (10.1 ppg). Over the last four contests, she has attempted 22 free throws, which is more than she had the first six games of the year (8). Holle has gone 17-for-21 from the stripe the last four games.
Bailey Holle has excelled in her sixth-player role this year and is averaging 25 minutes per game off the bench. She dropped a season-high 11 points on the road at Morgan State while tying a career-high with three triples. The senior has hit a trifecta in five of her last six games. Bailey completed her undergraduate degree in business administration at the conclusion of the fall semester. She was unable to attend the ceremony due to the Bobcats road game at Dartmouth on Dec. 15 but will receive her diploma in the spring. The Austin, Texas native will wear a Sun Belt Graduate patch on her jersey the remainder of the season and begin postgraduate work to pursue a master's in business administration in the fall semester.
Scouting Alcorn State
The Lady Braves have not played in over two weeks and dropped their last contest at home against UAB on Dec. 15, 86-65. Alcorn State defeated two Division I non-conference opponents (Tennessee State & Florida A&M) in the same season for the first time since 2011-12 and already matched its overall win total from last season. Senior guard Jada Hargrove leads the team in scoring average (11.7 ppg), assists (27) and steals (30). The Lady Braves are one of the most active defensive teams in the nation and lead the country forcing 29.82 turnovers per game. Courtney G. Pruitt is in her fifth season as head coach and holds a 40-91 record.
Series History
The Lady Braves lead the all-time series, 2-1, against Texas State. This season's meeting is the first since Nov. 30, 2002 in San Marcos when the Bobcats won, 62-51. The two schools played twice in '02, including the season opener as TXST fell, 58-56. Texas State maintains a slight 19-16 edge in meetings against the current alignment of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Up Next
Texas State begins Sun Belt Conference play hosting pre-season league favorite Little Rock at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2.
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