TXST ends homestand with win over Arkansas State

Texas State ended its four-game homestand on a high note as the Bobcats knocked off Arkansas State in a dominant 89-55 win on Saturday.

Head women’s basketball coach Zenarae Antoine was excited about her team’s response to the disappointing loss to Louisiana on Jan. 7. The Bobcats followed the loss with a two-game winning and are now set to start a four-game road swing.”

“I’m very happy — regardless of who our opponent was — that we were able to string two back-to-back games together,” Antoine said. “That was going to be important, and then for our coaching staff to be able to find a way to be able to help our team execute the game plan.”

One of Texas State’s struggles during conference play has been third quarter play, allowing an average of 19.6 points in the period.

Despite the Bobcats allowing 24 points in the second quarter on Saturday, Texas State responded by holding the Red Wolves to just 11 points.

“We did a good job during that third quarter,” Antoine said. “I’ve been harping on our consistency within that third quarter. We were excellent during the non-conference portion of our schedule, but we had to challenge the team to step up because we allowed 24 points during that second quarter.”

One of the keys to the two game winning streak has been the Bobcats ability to outrebound their opponents.

Following a 42 rebound performance on Thursday against Georgia State, Texas State followed it up with a 49 rebound performance against Arkansas State, including 32 defensive rebounds.

The focus on rebounding on the defensive end has been a main point for graduate senior center Jaeda Reed.

“I think, coming into this game, our main focus was on the defensive end,” Reed said. “We wanted to push each other in practice. And, like Coach Z said, we wanted to control the glass and hold each other accountable for rebounding. Those two things definitely helped us pick up these two wins this week.”

The defensive minded Bobcats have been making Antoine happy as the work has shown the results.

“I’m excited because there is an understanding and confidence with this team,” Antoine said. “You do your heavy lifting early and then the rest will fall into place. It’s just hard to execute but they (Texas State) have put in the work and now we have two wins. No victory is easy or comfortable but we gave ourselves enough of a cushion to allow our other student athletes to get in the game and play. It happened because we played defense and rebounded.”

Reed, along with redshirt senior Lauryn Thompson and junior forward Nicole Leff have not only been holding the post play down this year but also pushing one another during workouts to be better rebounders.

“We push each other during practice,” Reed said. “Even if we are just doing a scout team, we continue to push each other to be ‘Hey go box out and go get this rebound,’ or encourage one another to crash the boards. We are continuously talking to each other and staying in communication.”

One thing Reed has been working on is focusing on being self assured especially on the defensive end.

“It’s been trying to stay poised and not get into my head,” Reed said. “I can be defensive so I try to calm myself down at times while also knowing to just play defense that will make everything fall into place. That has helped get into my groove.”

Texas State starts their four-game road trip on Thursday as the Bobcats travel across the state line to battle the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks.