CONWAY, S.C. – The Texas State women's basketball team (9-14, 4-7 Sun Belt) led at the halftime break, but were unable to hold the lead against Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (12-10, 4-7 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center. TXST fell by a final score of 77-70 for the program's fifth-straight loss.

"I cannot fault the effort from this team," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "They fought hard all afternoon. We must do a better job of finishing possessions with a rebound. We gave up too many offensive rebounds and second chance points."

Senior guard Toshua Leavitt led the Bobcats on the offensive end of the floor. She scored 20 points on 6-of-22 shooting from the floor and 4-of-17 from the 3-point line. The game marked her eighth 20-point outing of the season. Junior guard Brooke Holle scored 12 of her 15 points in the opening 20 minutes of the game. She hit 4-of-9 shots from the floor and 2-of-4 attempts from behind the arc. Freshman forward Da'Nasia Hood rounded out the Bobcats in double figures as she tallied 13 points.

Junior forward DJ Williams posted a near triple-double for the home Chanticleers. She compiled 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Williams was relentless on the offensive attack off the bounce and slashing to the rim. As a result, she shot 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Caitlin Roche scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

As a team, the Chants shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the floor compared to 22-of-61 (36.1 percent) from the Bobcats. Much of the offensive damage for Coastal came in the painted area as the Chanticleers outdid the Bobcats 34-18 in the lane. CCU also outrebounded TXST by 20 (47-27) which included 19 offensive boards. Coastal turned the added possessions into 14 second chance points.

Texas State stormed out to a fast start, scoring 20 points in the first quarter for the second-consecutive ballgame. Hood and Holle combined to score 12 points in the quarter as the Bobcats led by a score of 20-14 after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Chanticleers twice pulled within two points. The Bobcat responded each time with runs of 6-0 and 7-0 to extend the lead. TXST never trailed in the first half and carried a 39-30 lead into intermission.

Coastal scored 11 of the first 13 points in the third quarter to tie the game at 41-41 with 7:18 to play in the quarter. Leavitt canned back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Cats a 49-43 lead forcing CCU into a timeout with 5:54 remaining in the third. Coastal scrapped back to take the lead for the first time with 39 second left in the quarter before Hood made a pair of free throws to take a 59-58 lead into the fourth.

Early in the quarter, CCU went on a quick 7-0 run to take a 64-60 lead. The Chanticleers never looked back and held on for the seven-point victory.

Up next, Texas State will be back inside the friendly confines of Strahan Arena for a pair of games against Arkansas State and Little Rock. The Bobcats and Red Wolves will meet up at 7 p.m. on Valentine's Day, while the Trojans come to town for a 2 p.m. tip on Feb. 16 on ESPN+.

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