By Tyler Mayforth
Daily Record Sports
San Marcos — Texas State finally won its first Southland Conference game.
The Bobcats needed nine tries, but they broke through with a 53-44 victory Wednesday night against Southeastern Louisiana.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it was a win and that is what we needed,” Texas State head coach Suzanne Fox said. “We did a good job rebounding and that was important because neither team shot the ball well.”
To say neither shot the ball well would be a compliment. The Bobcats and Lions were on the verge of sending basketball back into the era of peach baskets in the first half.
Texas State and SLU only combined to score two points in the first four minutes of the game. The Bobcats’ first basket was on an Aimee Hilburn lay-up with 13:09 remaining until halftime.
In the first half, both teams combined to make 27 percent of their shots (17 for 61), miss 17 3-pointers and commit 15 turnovers.
Texas State made the last basket of the half though and took a 21-19 lead into the break.
“It came down to who would make the least mistakes,” Lions head coach Lori Davis Jones said. “Texas State was able to limit their mistakes more than us and they took advantage of it.”
The Bobcats looked a lot better after halftime, as they moved the ball around the perimeter and found the open player. Texas State shot 50 percent in the second half while only attempting 20 shots.
More importantly, the Bobcats found a way to win when they’d usually give the game away.
Texas State got a big shot from both Mallory Williams and Kelsey Krupa late in the contest.
Williams, a career role player, knocked down a huge 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining to put the Bobcats ahead 47-40 and then Krupa (who went 1-for-9 from the field) canned two crucial free throws in the final minute.
“We had games before that when it was in the last four minutes, a two-possession game or we have the lead, we’ve made mistakes and then we don’t hit big shots,” Fox said. “Tonight, we did.”
Texas State looks to build on the win when it travels to McNeese State this Saturday to play the Cowgirls.
