SAN MARCOS, Texas– The Bobcats opened up conference play with a70-69 loss to Georgia Southern that was a battle from start to finish, with no side ever holding more than a seven points lead. After a 40 minute battle, though, Georgia Southern edged out the Bobcats for the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was clear from the start that these two teams were evenly matched. With similar non-conference records from similar non-conference schedules coming into the game, it was going to be a chess match between these two sides. And that was all but obvious after the opening quarter ended 16-16. Georgia State shot 6-12 while the Bobcats shot 5-12 but went 6-6 from the free throw line. Both sides longest scoring runs were four, no one really had the advantage in the opening quarter. It was just a back and forth affair, lead by the Bobcats
Timia Jefferson who knocked down six points early.
In the second quarter, though, Georgia Southern hit a little bit of rhythm and with Terren Ward heating up for eight points, the Bobcats were down at the halftime break. The Eagles five point advantage at the halftime break came largely from second chance points. Outscoring the Bobcats 8-0 on second chance opportunities helped them have a 38-33 lead at the break, despite having nine turnovers to the Bobcats one.
The third quarter was a big comeback quarter for the Bobcats. The team outscored the Eagles 17-13, which made things a one-point game heading into the final quarter.
Gara Beth Self had six points in the third off two big three-point attempts. The Bobcats three-point showing was a difference maker in the third with Self's two and one from
Jaylin Foster that helped the Bobcats go on a scoring run and take a lead late in the third quarter. The Eagles would hit a late field goal to take a one-point lead into the final quarter.
The chess match continued in the fourth. There were two lead changes and a tied score in the last quarter alone, with the Bobcats fighting to come back in it.
Ja'Niah Henson came up big for eight of the 19 points in the last quarter, including going 5-5 from the free-throw line. She shot 9-9 on the night from the line as well. When fouled on a three-point attempt, Henson knocked down all three to make the score 70-69 with 34 seconds to go. Ultimately, the Bobcats would get the ball back for the final play of the game with 17 seconds to go. Henson went for the jump shot but missed, allowing the Eagles to come away with the victory.
WHAT HEAD COACH ZENARAE ANTOINE SAID: "This was a really tough game. There were definitely a lot of positive superlatives. I definitely want to put the ball in Ja'Niah [Henson's] hands at the end of the game. I don't change that. But if we really have to break it down with what we struggled with it was giving up second chance opportunities… we just gave up so many open looks. But did we battle all the way to the end? Yeah we did. We were down a majority of the game. But in this conference, you can't take one possession off. One possession off will hurt you."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY QUARTER
1st | Texas State 16, Georgia Southern 16
2nd | Texas State 17, Georgia Southern 22
3rd | Texas State 17, Georgia Southern 13
4th | Texas State 19, Georgia Southern 19
GAME NOTES
- The Bobcats are now 9-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference play after the loss to Georgia Southern.
- This was Jefferson's 10th and Henson's ninth game of the season with double-digit points in a game. Jefferson had 11 points tonight while Henson had 18. The pair are both averaging over 11 points a night.
- Henson hasn't missed a free throw attempt in the Bobcats last four games, with her last miss coming seven minutes into the third quarter of the Bobcats win over Denver. She is 49-53 on the season in free throw attempts, for a .925 percentage. Henson has the highest free throw percentage of any player in the Sun Belt Conference and is amongst the best in the nation. She hasn't missed a free-throw attempt in her last 27 tries.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will embark on the first road trip of conference play, opening with a visit to App State on Thursday, Jan. 4. The Bobcats will face App State at 6:30 EST and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. The Bobcats will then travel to Atlanta for a game with Georgia State on Jan. 6.
