PENSACOLA, Fla. — Texas State ended the regular season with its first conference title in 15 years. It had its head coach named conference coach of the year on Monday as well as two of the best players in program history earn all-conference honors once again.

But now, it is approaching gameday of the conference tournament and there is much more on the line.
 
Texas State opens its journey in the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Basketball Championship on Friday with a quarterfinal matchup against App State. The Bobcats and Mountaineers tip off at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+).
 
While Texas State has accomplished plenty in the last seven days – and entire regular season, such as accumulating the third-most wins in program history – it has set its sights on much more postseason play.
 
The Bobcats will need to get through App State first. The two met once this season, back on January 5 in San Marcos. Behind double-doubles by Da'Nasia Hood and Kennedy Taylor – two All-Sun Belt performers this year – the Bobcats beat App State, 66-59. The victory also tied head coach Zenarae Antoine, the Sun Belt's Coach of the Year, for the most wins by a coach in program history – a record she now comfortably owns.
 
Texas State enters this week 8-2 in its last 10 games, which is its best 10-game span to end the regular season since it also went 8-2 in 2017-18.
 
Also over the last 10 games, the Bobcats are 5-0 on the road. They have been tested to play away from San Marcos over the last 25 days as they only played at home twice over that stretch.
 
ROAD DOGS

• While Texas State is 8-4 on the road this season, it is 7-2 in conference road games.
• Texas State has won 5 straight road games entering Friday.
• It is Texas State's longest road winning streak since 2007-08 when it won 7 straight on the road from Jan. 17 to March 1.
• The Bobcats have clinched their first winning record on the road since 2017-18 (10-6).

 
GETTING OFFENSIVE

• Texas State is coming off its best shooting percentages as it shot 52.6 percent at Arkansas State in the game to clinch the Sun Belt Conference regular season title on Feb. 25.
• The Bobcats have shot 50 percent or better in 2 of their last 3 games entering the conference tournament.
• Texas State also shot 40 percent from three against the Red Wolves last Friday, which was the second time in the last 3 games it has been 40 percent or better from long range.
• The Bobcats are averaging 19.3 three-point attempts in the last 9 games. Over that span, the Bobcats are shooting 33.9 percent from three (59-of-174).
• In the first 10 games of the year, Texas State averaged 15.4 three-point attempts a game.
• The Bobcats are 8-4 this year when attempting 19 or more threes in a game.

 
LAST 10 FOR HOOD

• Da'Nasia Hood has been the difference over the last 10 games as she is averaging 18.8 points and 8.1 rebounds over the span.
• For the season, Hood is averaging a team-best 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds. But in the three games prior to the current 10-game stretch, Hood averaged 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.
• Hood is shooting 42.5 percent from the field in the last 10 games and 30.6 percent from three-point range. Over the entire season, Hood is shooting 40.9 percent and 26.1 percent.

 
LAST 10 FOR BOWIE

• While Hood is impressive over the last 10, so is fellow graduate student Ja'Kayla Bowie. The guard is averaging 11.5 points on 53.9 percent shooting (41.2 percent from three) as well as 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal.
• Bowie is having a career year as she is averaging personal bests in points (8.9 points/game) and assists (2.4 assists/game). She has also set a new career-high in steals with 36.
• Bowie's 28 starts are a career-high while her 28 games played match her personal-best.
• Bowie is one of 5 players on Texas State who is averaging 8.9 points or more per game this year.
• Bowie is 2nd in the Sun Belt-only games in field goal percentage (55.0 percent).

 
LAST 3 FOR THOMPSON

• Lauryn Thompson, a redshirt senior, enters the Sun Belt Basketball Championship with 3 straight games of double-digit points.
• She had 15 points in the regular season finale, which matched her Sun Belt season-high.
• In the last 3 games, Thompson is averaging 13.0 points on 61.9 percent shooting (13-of-21).
• Thompson is 9th in the Sun Belt in conference-only games with a 49.1 field goal percentage.

 
WITH THE ASSIST

• Kennedy Taylor has 176 assists in 29 games this season and is averaging 6.1 assists/game.
• Her 6.1 assists/game are 14th in the country while her 176 assists are 11th-most in the nation.
• The 176 assists are also 3rd-most in a single-season by a Bobcat in program history.
• Taylor needs 8 assists to have the 2nd-most assists in a season by a Bobcat.
• Taylor owns 3 of the top-4 assist totals in a season by a Bobcat.
• Last year, she had a career-high 183 assists, which are 2nd-most in school history. In 2019-20, she had 170, which are 4th-most.

 
Most Assists, Single Season
Texas State History
1.   Taeler Deer (2017-18)                       213
2.   Kennedy Taylor (2021-22)                 183
3.   Kennedy Taylor (2022-23)                 176
4.   Kennedy Taylor (2019-20)                 170
5.   Shelly Borton (1989-90)                    161
 
EATON ON THE BLOCK

• Tianna Eaton leads the Bobcats with a career-high 38 blocks this year.
• The 38 blocks are currently 5th-most in a season by a Bobcat.
• Eaton needs one more block to tie Denise Jones (1994-95) for the 4th-most blocks ever in a season by a Bobcat.
• She has at least one block in 25 of the 29 games this season.
• Eaton entered the season with 17 career blocks in two years at Texas State.

 
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Texas State is 6-9 all-time in the Sun Belt Basketball Championship.
• It has won at least one game in each of the last two editions and in 5 of its 9 trips.
• The Bobcats have advanced to the championship game one time, which was in 2017-18. The Bobcats entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and after beating No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina and No. 6 Louisiana, they lost in the championship, 54-53, to No. 1 seed Little Rock.
• Texas State has reached the semifinals 3 times: 2014, 2015 and 2018.
• The Bobcats have won 2 conference tournament titles in program history, both in the Southland: 1997 and 2003.
• Texas State has never faced App State in the conference tournament.