Bobcats battle back against Warhawks for 5th-straight win, 66-58

Zenarae Antoine was stressed about Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe more than any other in Sun Belt play.

The Warhawks hadn’t won a game against a conference opponent all season, but Texas State’s head coach still thought ULM had a roster full of solid players like freshman guard Kyren Whittington, who was averaging 14.4 points per game.

“For whatever reason, they just haven't gotten over that hump yet. And I didn't want that hump to be Texas State,” Antoine said. “My biggest concern as far as (ULM's) offensive power was going to be (Whittington). And so I stressed with my staff, I was even texting them late last night about it like, 'We really have to lock in on (No.) 0.'”

Antoine’s fears became a reality in the first half of the game. Whittington scorched the Bobcats for 18 points through the first two quarters, giving the Warhawks a 37-29 lead at halftime.

The maroon and gold came back, though, even after ULM extended the lead to double-digits. Texas State held the Warhawks to 21 points total in the second half to come away with a 66-58 victory inside Strahan Arena.

“Obviously, we started off slow,” senior forward Da’Nasia Hood said. “So I think as a senior group, we understood that and we just kind of kept pushing. We always say ‘keep fighting, keep fighting.’ So I think that's the main thing that always brings us back into the games.”

The hosts ran a 2-3 zone on defense for the majority of the day to share the load in guarding Whittington, but Whittington kept finding cracks to slip through. The visitors also took advantage Texas State’s 10 turnovers in the first half, scoring 15 points off of them.

The Bobcats were kept afloat by their posts. Antoine told senior forward Jaeda Reed and redshirt junior forward Lauryn Thompson they needed to be aggressive on the block and the pair of bigs took it to heart. Thompson had four points and three rebounds in the first half while Reed, who entered the game making 56.1% of her free throws, hit 7-8 at the stripe to finish the half with nine points and four rebounds.

“I've been coming and shooting (free throws) every day. Coach Z stresses them every day in practice. Yeah, I've been working on them,” Reed said. “My role on the floor is to score and rebound. So however that needs to get done, it's going to get done … (I was) staying focused, not rushing. Whenever I get the ball in the post, I'm checking before I make a move, always crashing.”

ULM (4-21, 0-11 Sun Belt) extended its lead to 43-33 with 6:11 left in the third quarter. But the momentum began to turn as Reed and senior guard Kennedy Taylor found their rhythms. Reed scored from the block on the next possession after a feed by Taylor, and a 3-pointer from Taylor in transition on the next trip down slashed the visitors’ lead in half.

Jaeda Reed (@jaeda_reed) hits a lefty hook shot to make it a one-score game and #ULM travels on the next possession to trigger the media timeout at 4:40

Reed currently leads the Bobcats with 13 points and 4 rebounds. The team is on a 7-0 run @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/H0Fxa3hzm1

— Drew King (@drewking0222) February 12, 2022

Taylor found Reed down low for another bucket, and a jumper from Hood on the right baseline made it a 9-0 run for the maroon and gold. The Warhawks halted the run to go back up by three. But Taylor knocked down another triple a few plays later — her fourth of the game, tying her career-high — to knot the score at 47-47. Sophomore guard Sierra Dickson added a free throw and a layup at the end of the period to push the Bobcats ahead, 50-47.

Taylor had six points, five assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal in the third quarter alone.

“I think Kennedy had an understanding of what she needed to do to get the team going. I think also for her, it was tough because she had a higher turnover game than she normally did. So her refocusing, not being as focused on her turnovers (helped),” Antoine said. “She, in-game, was able to make that adjustment — ‘OK well, this is what I can do to make sure that I'm getting the team going on both ends of the floor, as well as this is what I need to do in order for our team to win.’ And that's what we saw.”

End of 3rd @smdrsports #TXST 50#ULM 47

6 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal in the third quarter alone for @_kennedyt_. She's completely taken over the game pic.twitter.com/61mnnYY6zd

— Drew King (@drewking0222) February 12, 2022

Hood came alive in the fourth quarter, adding 12 points to help extend the lead to a comfortable distance and close out the 66-58 win. She finished the game with 16 points, five boards, four assists and two steals.

“I think I just started out kind of cold,” Hood said. “And my teammates, they do a good job of always talking to me, encouraging me and also just staying into it. I know my role on the team is to score but I also bring a lot of other things, too. So I just try to focus on other things and let the baskets come.”

Taylor tied Hood with 16 points while adding eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the game. Reed totaled 15 points and four rebounds, helping the team win its fifth consecutive game — the program’s longest since the 2017-18 season.

Texas State (13-11, 8-4) will look to keep the winning streak going on the road next Saturday when it takes on Appalachian State (12-10, 6-3) in Boone, N.C. Antoine doesn’t want to get too caught up in past successes, though. She wants to make sure her is focused on one game at a time.

“If you were to ask me where we are in the standings, I really don't know. And truly, all I care about is the next game up,” Antoine said. “So the second we won, I was so happy for our team to win that game, and for myself as well, against (Louisiana on Thursday). But I didn't have time to, you know, get too excited because I gotta focus on a very tough, obviously, Monroe team. 

“I feel the exact same way right now about App.”