Texas State runs out of gas against Troy in 96-73 loss

Texas State went into the locker room at halftime in a good place.

The Bobcats, going up against Troy on Thursday, took the Trojans out of their game through two quarters. If the maroon and gold could keep it up and settle down in the second half — improving on the 16 turnovers they committed — they might have a chance to come back from trailing 40-35.

It didn’t happen that way, though. Texas State grew impatient with chipping away at the lead, allowing the reigning Sun Belt champions to jack up the tempo and get into a rhythm. The Trojans pulled away over the final two frames, handing the Bobcats a 96-73 loss inside Strahan Arena.

“Every time I felt like we started to close the gap, it separated,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said. “And then we were gassed in the fourth quarter. I think we were gassed both mentally and physically.”

Troy (11-5, 1-0 Sun Belt), the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country, was held in check on the boards in the first quarter, scoring just four second-chance points and giving up the same amount to Texas State.

Senior point guard Kennedy Taylor found success getting into the teeth of the defense, putting up seven points in the first 10 minutes of the game. But redshirt senior forward Lauryn Thompson led the way for the hosts on the glass, grabbing six rebounds while adding six points.

“Lauryn's getting herself back into, you know, just basketball shape again,” Antoine said. “She was out for quite some time due to a personal matter. So she didn't actually truly come back until the morning of our (Louisiana-Monroe) game, as far as her conditioning going from a break, as well as her having to be out once we were in California. So what I saw is someone who's getting herself back into the flow who was in shape, which we really needed.”

The Bobcats kept things slow and steady through the early parts of the second quarter, grinding out long possessions on defense and forcing the Trojans to do the same on the other end. Senior forward Da’Nasia Hood found her stroke from the mid-range, sparking a 13-4 run that put the team up 30-29 with 4:40 to play in the first half.

The visitors immediately responded, though, going on an 8-0 run in which Hood tweaked her ankle and had to come out of the game. It was especially costly for Texas State, which found itself shorthanded again — though senior guards Ja’Kayla Bowie, Tianna Eaton and Jo’Nah Johnson were all active on Thursday after missing the team’s past two games, junior forward Chelsea Johnson and sophomore guard Presley Bennett were both ruled out.

Hood eventually returned with a minute left on the clock and drained the final bucket of the half to cut the lead to 40-35. But the Bobcats never got onto a roll again.

Da'Nasia Hood (@OfficialDHood_) hits the first shot of the second half and is now up to 16 points. She only needs an inch of space to get these off @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/g1ypdLhyNx

— Drew King (@drewking0222) January 7, 2022

“I felt like we did a good job of just understanding the scout and what we talked about that we needed to do as far as being able to contest shots, right? Because we know shots are going up no matter what, quickly. And then do a good job of boxing out, I thought we did a decent job of boxing out,” Antoine said. “That did not happen in the second half. I thought maybe — without talking to the team and reviewing film — I'm not quite sure exactly why the mentality changed, but it did. And that's something that we've got to turn around and get fixed.”

Hood sank another jumper to start the third quarter, trimming the deficit down to three. But Texas State never got any closer as Troy senior guards Tiyah Johnson and Jasmine Robinson caught fire from outside, responding with two 3-pointers each.

The Trojans outscored the Bobcats 33-18 in the third quarter to open up a 20-point lead and kept their foot on the pedal in the fourth to take the 96-73 win.

Hood and Thompson both earned double-doubles, the former with 21 points and 10 rebounds and the latter with 11 points and 10 boards. Bowie added 11 points and Taylor finished the night with 10 points and five assists.

The maroon and gold won’t play again until next weekend, with its game against South Alabama that was scheduled for Saturday canceled. Texas State (6-9, 1-2) will look to recover when it heads east to face Georgia Southern (10-4, 1-1) on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Georgia State (6-6, 0-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Antoine plans for the team to focus on itself during the extended break.

“We need to self-scout right now, so we are definitely practicing,” Antoine said. “We're going to spend some time self-scouting so we can make a quick adjustment because you know, no game is guaranteed right now with COVID. So it's really important that we understand that.”