Coming into their road game against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, you could feel that it was possibly the most important game of the year for the Texas State Women’s Basketball team. The Bobcats were sitting with a 3-6 record in the SLC as well as 9th overall and a loss would have severely hurt Texas State’s chances of getting into the Southland Conference tournament in Katy this March. So, a thrilling 66-62 road victory over the Islanders should give the Bobcat players a big reason to celebrate tonight.
One could feel that the momentum from the 62-48 drubbing of McNeese last Saturday was carrying over for the Bobcats, as an explosive start out of the gate eventually led to an 11-point early lead for Texas State. But as we’ve seen numerous times in the series between the two, the game quickly turned close again as Jade Davis and Lauren Smith hit a couple of momentum-shifting three pointers for the Islanders to bring the game to a 34-34 tie at halftime.
Despite 15 points and 5 defensive rebounds from Victoria Davis in the first half as well as some good production from the Bobcat bench, one could feel a bit of unease on the Texas State sideline as Aimee Hilburn, Verinus Kalu, Kim Cessna and Gabriell Mattox all ran into foul trouble with 2 fouls each and had to be subsequently benched.
That unease may have carried over out of the locker room as the Bobcats looked disjointed and out of sync as A&M-Corpus quickly went on a 20-6 run to go up by as much as 14 with 14 minutes to go in the game. It was eerily reminiscent of the huge run that Southeastern Louisiana put up on Texas State in Hammond a week ago as they jumped out to an eventually insurmountable 20-point lead.
However, the Bobcat players regrouped and with the pair of Davis and Mattox combining to score 17 points in 8 minutes to resuscitate the team back to a 58-58 tie and eventually a late lead. One could sense that the Bobcat players started to believe when a previously quiet Mattox started draining threes and Davis banked in shots that frankly, not many players in the NBA or the WNBA could make.
The two teams traded baskets as well as the lead numerous times down the stretch, but the Bobcat defense put the clamps down on the Islanders in the last two minutes and forced some key turnovers, flustering the A&M – Corpus players. You could see the frustration finally get to the heads of the Islander players as some miscommunication between A&M – Corpus’ Myesha Miles, Lauren Smith, and Jade Davis led to a deadly mistake in an unforced errant pass out of bounds with 34 seconds to go in the game. The turnover led to a clutch Cessna jumper with about 10 seconds left which iced the game and led to an explosion of joy off of the Bobcat bench.
It was an inspiring performance for the team to come back from such a large deficit and win a crucial conference game, especially if you consider the fact that the women’s team hadn’t won a road game the entire season. Texas State needed some big performances from their key players, and they certainly got some. Victoria Davis surpassed her career high with 26 points, leading all scorers including her Corpus counterpart in Jade Davis, who finished with 24.
Gabriell Mattox also once again scored in double figures with 13 points and of course Kim Cessna had the clutch shot to clinch the win for Texas State while finishing with 7 points. Brittany Wilson also had a good outing for the second straight game off of the bench, scoring 9 points while showcasing her previously unseen abilities in the paint. But, despite those huge performances during the postgame interview head coach Suzanne Fox was quick to compliment her defense first, essentially implying that their toughness on defense won the game down the stretch.
The Bobcats are still sitting at 9th in the Southland Conference with a 4-6 record in conference play, but it was a big win because it chips away at the Islanders lead over the Bobcats in the West Division as they dropped to 4-5 in the SLC. Texas State's sweep of the series against A&M - Corpus Christi also gives them a tiebreaker if both teams end up with the same conference records at the end of the regular season.
The Bobcat players also received another bit of good news as a seemingly hot Sam Houston State team shockingly dropped a 76-74 decision to Nicholls State, who had previously been winless on the season. That upset also dropped the Bearkats to 4-5 in the SLC.
The Bobcats now have a great chance to further insert themselves in the SLC mix by defeating Lamar on Saturday at 2 pm in Strahan Coliseum. Fans should consider attending not only to watch a quickly improving Bobcat team, but also to support the fight against cancer as fans who wear pink in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s effort to raise breast cancer awareness get in for only $2. Bring your Valentine’s date, and come out and support your Bobcats! You can listen to all the action on 89.9 KTSW.
Will Butler- KTSW Sports Staff Writer
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