TXST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Bobcats wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a win over UNT-Dallas. Texas State will now shift their focus to conference play in the program’s final year in the Sun Belt.
Head Coach Zenarae Antoine is excited to start conference play with the Bobcats hosting the rival Ragin’ Cajuns, whosit at the bottom of the standings.
“Thank goodness it’s 00 for both teams,” Antoine said. “I think that’s going to be really important going to this. It’s always been a phenomenal matchup between Garry’s [Brodhead] team and our team at Lafayette. Almost in every single sport it is Texas State and Lafayette. It’s exciting for me in the Sun Belt Conference. It is one of my favorite matchups across the board. I go to a lot of the games from the other athletic programs here. So I’m really excited that we get an opportunity to start out with them. It’s going to be a great test.”
It’s been tough for Texas State, who enters conference play with a 3-6 overall record with wins over Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Prairie View A&M and UNT-Dallas.
The Bobcats are led by sophomore guard Saniya Burks who leads the team in scoring with 16.8 per game. Burks also leads the team in steals with 2.2.
Sophomore Kyla Anderson is second in scoring with 10.3 points and leads the team in rebounds with 8.0. Anderson also leads the team in blocks with 1.3.
Another key contributor for the Bobcats is senior guard Deja Jones who has averaged 5.9 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game and 0.4 assists per game.
A graduate of East Central High School, Jones is one of the older players and is using her experience to help guide a team full of freshman and sophomores.
The Bobcats open conference play against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Both teams are looking to turn their seasons around after slow starts. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
“It’s a little different because this is my sixth year, so everybody has their own personalities and still have growing up to do,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to be better about using my voice and leading in all aspects, because I know they look up to me. So that’s an adjustment I have to make, because I’m not as vocal as I want to be. It’s helping me in a way to just be vocal and speak up when I need to speak up.”
With the Bobcats opening up conference play against the Cajuns, Antoine’s focus for the team is their ability to beat the zone defense.
“They are running a lot of zones, so this game was important to us as well and our ability to be able to be patient in the zone,” Anotine said. “You saw that we had some costly turnovers today in the zone that we can’t afford to have against Lafayette as far as having our first opponent coming in here. I expect them to play hard. Gary’s teams always play really hard. He’s won championships similar to us as well. I look forward to that.”
Tip-off for Texas State-Louisiana is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at Strahan Arena.
