PENSACOLA, Fla. — Facing an opponent for the eighth time in the last 727 days, Louisiana got the best of Texas State Friday evening as the Ragin' Cajuns brought an end for the Bobcats' 2021-22 season with a 71-46 outcome.
Texas State (15-14, 9-6) came out of the gates against Louisiana (18-6, 9-4) shaky offensively as the Bobcats managed just a five-point first quarter, while the Ragin' Cajuns raced out to a nine-point lead after the game's first 10-minute segment.
The Bobcats, however, refused to go quietly as they cut their deficit to eight by halftime, despite getting as close as three on a
Jo'Nah Johnson 3-pointer with 2:28 left in the second quarter.
Despite its best efforts, Texas State could not find a way to get over the hump as the Bobcats never got closer than a five-point margin at 32-27 following a
Sierra Dickson 3-point basket at the 4:37 mark of the third quarter.
Shooting 70.59 percent during the fourth quarter, Louisiana all but wrapped up the contest after a 14-point margin less than 15 seconds into the fourth quarter ballooned into a 21-point mark with 6:34 to play in the game.
FROM HEAD COACH ZENARAE ANTOINE
"We didn't play defense tonight. We didn't do a good job of defending and, the one thing you need during the postseason, is to have defense. I'll never let the final game of the season define our season, though. What (
Kennedy Taylor and
Jo'Nah Johnson) mean as well as the rest of the young women on this team mean to the program is truly remarkable. Only one win team in the entire country gets to end their season with a win, so I'm not going to let this one game define our season."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY QUARTER
- 1st | Louisiana 14, Texas State 5
- 2nd | Louisiana 25, Texas State 17
- 3rd | Louisiana 45, Texas State 29
- 4th | Louisiana 71, Texas State 46
GAME NOTES
- For just the fifth time in 17 games against conference opponents during the 2021-22 season, Texas State senior guard Kennedy Taylor did not play every minute of a game. Her 36 minutes of game action on Friday night were the fewest since playing 36 against Troy on Jan. 6, 2022.
- Texas State senior forward Da'Nasia Hood finished the Bobcats' two-game stay in the conference tournament with a team-high 44 points on 50.0 percent (16-32) shooting. Hood also pulled down a team-high 18 rebounds.
- Texas State's five first-quarter points marked the fewest points scored in a single quarter by the Bobcats since scoring five throughout the fourth quarter at Little Rock on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.
FOLLOW US
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TXStateWBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
