SAN MARCOS, TX — With 4:53 remaining in the first quarter of Texas State's 60-55 win over UTSA, the visiting Roadrunners were already holding onto a double-figure lead after hurried out to a 13-1 lead.
It took some time — 30 minutes and 46 seconds to be exact — but the Bobcats caught up and passed the Roadrunners (1-5) when Taelour Pruitt capitalized on a second-chance offensive opportunity during Texas State's second offensive possession less than a minute into the game's fourth quarter.
The Texas State comeback was largely sparked by the third-quarter performance from fifth-year senior
Ja'Kayla Bowie, who scored 12 of her team-high 16 points during a third quarter in which the Bobcats outscored the Roadrunners by eight points. Bowie, during the game's third stanza, connected on all five of her shot attempts in just seven minutes of game action.
And then the home team returned the favor to the visitors as Texas State went on a game-altering 9-0 scoring run over the next three minutes that was capped by a
Da'Nasia Hood layup with 6:33 left to play. UTSA attempted to chip away at the deficit but a jumper from Hood pushed the Bobcat lead back to nine two minutes later.
Over the final four minutes, Texas State connected on six of eight free throw attempts — including one by Hood with five seconds left to extend the Bobcat lead to five — and seal its fifth straight win over UTSA.
FROM HEAD COACH ZENARAE ANTOINE
"Without looking at the stats, I can tell you what I liked most about tonight's game was the response from our young women coming out of halftime: they had the understanding of what it was going to take to get the job done, the dog fight we saw and the no-quit attitude.
Ja'Kayla Bowie went out there and just found a way. She got back to what I consider her roots and that's just being a really aggressive player off the bounce, diving for loose basketballs and just capitalizing on the hustle plays. But, overall, Ja'Kayla just had a complete game tonight and that really catapulted a lot of teammates. Everyone just wanted to find a way (to win this game) and that's what we did tonight: we found a way out of no way and that's what I liked."
FROM GUARD JA'KAYLA BOWIE
"I really just wanted to give off positive energy tonight, because the last few games I really haven't been doing that. I've, kind of, been the one hanging my head and not really using my voice that much, so I made it my mission for this game to give off positive energy to my teammates no matter what. That's really all I thought about tonight. I didn't want to be in a funk or anything.
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY QUARTERS
- 1st | UTSA 15, Texas State 7
- 2nd | UTSA 29, Texas State 20
- 3rd | UTSA 40, Texas State 39
- 4th | Texas State 60, UTSA 55
MATCH NOTES
- With the win, the foursome of fifth-year seniors for the Texas State women's basketball program — Kennedy Taylor, Ja'Kayla Bowie, Da'Nasia Hood and Jaeda Reed — will close out their Bobcat careers having never lost to UTSA:
- 2018: Texas State 68, UTSA 60
- 2019: Texas State 74, UTSA 69 (OT)
- 2020: DNP
- Marking the first time the two programs didn't meet during a season since the first-ever game on Nov. 23, 1981.
- 2021: Texas State 76, UTSA 62
- 2022: Texas State 60, UTSA 55
- The 55 points scored by UTSA Wednesday night were the fewest by the Roadrunners in a Texas State victory in series history the Bobcats won, 57-53, in San Antonio on Dec. 4, 2014.
- Under head coach Zenarae Antoine, the Texas State women's basketball program is now 8-5 against UTSA, including wins over the Roadrunners in seven of the last eight games.
- First-year Bobcat Taelour Pruitt continued her productive start to the 2022-23 season as the SEMO transfer — in 30 minutes off the bench — netted 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and knocked down four of five free throw attempts.
- Her 62.5 shooting percentage (5-8) was the highest by the Crowley, Texas native in games this season she has taken 7-or-more shots.
- Her 80.0 percentage (4-5) from the free throw line was the highest in games this season she has taken 3-or-more shots from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
- Texas State (4-2) will continue its six-game homestand throughout the month of December when the Bobcats play host to Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 3.
- The Lions (1-6) come to the Lonestar State having dropped their last five straight games after falling to UCSB, 64-49, Wednesday night.
FOLLOW US
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TXStateWBB on Twitter and Instagram. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
