SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State women's basketball suffered a 85-59 loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd despite having a promising opening quarter that saw the Bobcats up 23-15.
A 15 point quarter from
Ja'Niah Henson to start the game propelled the Bobcats to a hot start and an early lead. After the first quarter saw the Bobcats with a 23-15 lead, the Bobcats were stopped in the second after being allowed just four shot attempts and scoring just five points.
Henson ended the night with 19 points going 5-6 from the field and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line to improve her percentage as the 4
th best free-throw shooter in the nation.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Ja'Niah Henson started early with a made three-point attempts as the Bobcats first basket. With the foul on the shot she earned and converted the four point play. Henson shot 4-5 in the opening quarter with six free-throw attempts made to lead the Bobcats with 15 points in the first quarter.
Tiffany Tullis also grabbed six rebounds, all defensive, to help limit the Herd to just 5-17 shooting and 15 points.
The second quarter was all Marshall, though. While shooting 10-21 and 7013 from beyond the arc, the Herd put 27 points on the Bobcats. That, paired with allowing the Bobcats just four shots and five points was the difference in the first half. As the Bobcats were plagued by 14 turnovers to the Herd's five, Marshall had 18 points off turnovers in the second quarter alone. Headed into the halftime break the 'Cats eight point lead from the first quarter had become a 14 point deficit.
The third quarter was more even-keeled between the two sides. The Bobcats shot 7-12 from the field while the Herd went 5-15. The Bobcats outscored the Herd 17-16, but it wasn't enough to erase the deficit from the second quarter. Despite impressive three-point defending and holding the Herd to 2-9 in the third, the 'Cats had work to do in the fourth.
The final quarter was another lopsided affair as the Herd went for 27 points and held the Bobcats to just 14.
Timia Jefferson led the Bobcats with six points on 2-3 shooting, but it was not enough to come back and the Bobcats ended up falling 85-59.
WHAT HEAD COACH ZENARAE ANTOINE SAID: "Hats off to Marshall. There's a reason why they're the number one team. They do a great job of turning people over. They turn the ball over at a high rate and unfortunately we are on the receiving end of that. We definitely did better the second half. [The turnover] piece of our response was good. The piece that we struggled with was the rebounding piece. Between giving up offensive rebounds and turning the ball over, it makes it really difficult and puts a lot of pressure on your offense."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY QUARTER
1st | Texas State 23, Marshall 15
2nd | Texas State 5, Marshall 27
2nd | Texas State 16, Marshall 17
2nd | Texas State 14, Marshall 27
GAME NOTES
- The Bobcats are now 13-15 on the season and 3-12 in conference play after the loss to Marshall.
- Ja'Niah Henson is currently on a streak of 28 made free throws. The guard is 98-105 on her free throw attempts this year for a 93.3 percentage. She has not missed a free throw since the 4th quarter of the Bobcats game at South Alabama on Jan. 25.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will host Louisiana on Saturday afternoon inside Strahan Arena. The game will tip-off at 2 p.m. and be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased at txst.com/tickets. The Bobcats will close the regular season at home with two games next week against Southern Miss and ULM.
