Bobcats Edge Lady Rams in Double Overtime Thriller

Texas State hosted the Huston-Tillotson Lady Rams on Tuesday. After falling to the Texas Southern Tigers on Saturday the Bobcats were looking to snap a four game losing streak with a victory over the visitors from Austin. Let’s just say this was not going to be no easy victory for the Bobcats, and it would take everything possible in the tank to pull out the win.

The Bobcats started the game like they often have this year, which means lots of turnovers and suspect defense at times. Huston-Tillotson only had 6 players dressed for the game, and despite that disadvantage the Rams were able to hang with a deeper and more talented Texas State team. Texas State only led by 6 points at half, and shot 46 % from the field. Tillotson only shot 31 % from the field, but shot 50 % from 3 point range which kept the game close.

Texas State led by as many as 17 points late in the second half until the wheels came off completely. A combination of unforced turnovers and lack of execution allowed the Rams to not only get back in the game, but send the game into overtime. Thanks to a three from Kevetta Williams with 7 seconds remaining, the sparse Huston-Tillotson bench erupted and the Strahan crowd was left stunned. With all the momentum on the Lady Rams's side, and not to mention almost the entire crowd had left, the Bobcats found themselves in a very tight situation against a team that had no business to still be in the game. Texas State found themselves down by 3 with time ticking down in the first OT, and when all seemed lost Aimee Hilburn nailed a huge game tying 3 pointer to send the game into a second overtime. The Bobcats were given a huge advantage in the second overtime when the third player fouled out for Tillotson, and they had no choice but to play only 3 players on the court, and yes you did read that correctly.

Despite the valiant effort by the Huston-Tillotson Rams, Texas State ended up winning the game by a final score of 99 to 94. The Bobcats, despite the victory, were not pleased with their effort. Especially glaring was the team's 35 turnovers in the game. The top scorers for the Bobcats were Lacey Klause and Chika Ofoegbu. Ofoegbu led the team with 18 points and grabbed a team high 14 boards while Klause scored 14 points and also grabbed 10 boards for the game. Both players dominated the paint and made critical baskets when the team needed them.

Texas State improves to 3 and 5 in this early season, and will return to action on the 18th when they travel to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The tip off is at 8:05 pm Central Time, you can listen in on 89.9 FM KTSW and online at ktsw.net.

-Nathan Castro, KTSW Sports Staff Writer