Texas State Swept by UT-Arlington Lady Mavericks

The Texas State Bobcats came to Texas Hall on Saturday to face off against the Lady Mavericks of UTA. Coach Fox and the 'Cats were looking for their first win in conference, and to stop a 7 game losing streak. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they were unable to get the win in a hard-fought 71-59 road loss.

In the first half the Lady Mavericks scored first and the score remained 2 to 0 for the first few minutes. The Bobcats got into the game when Kelsey Krupa hit a jump shot. However, great guard play for UT-Arlington really set the tempo in the first half. Seniors Meghan Nelson and Kiarra Schofer really set the tempo of the game, showing their leadership. The Bobcats did a pretty good of getting back on defense, but the Lady Mavericks still were able to get down the court in a hurry. The Bobcats kept it close in the first half, being down only by 5 nearly the whole entire half. Near the end of the half the Bobcats started to slip and Mavericks lead began to grow. Texas State then went into halftime down 40 to 32.

In the second half the Bobcats came out with renewed intensity and put it on the Lady Mavericks, cutting the lead down to one very quickly. They also played great defense shutting down the Maverick fast break. However, the Bobcats ran into foul trouble very quickly. They put UTA in the bonus quite quickly, and seemed that every foul was on Texas State. Seniors Aimee Hilburn and Victoria Davis lost their cool in the confusion and were called for separate technical fouls at different points in the last ten minutes. In the end, the Bobcats couldn't manage to stay in the close game as they went down by 10 at one point. The Bobcats also seemed to not be able to figure out 2-3 zone of the Mavericks, as it has been their Achilles' Heel all season. As a result, the Bobcats committed 28 turnovers throughout the game. The leading scorer for Texas State was Kelsey Krupa with 15, and the Mavericks were led by Meghan Nelson who put up 28. Nelson hit double digits in her 19th straight game.

With the loss, the Bobcats falls to 4-14, 0-7 SLC on the season, while UTA improves to 8-11, 3-3 SLC. Texas State has now lost 8 games in a row, which ties this season's longest losing streak set by an SLC team (Sam Houston State). The 'Cats are also 0-14 against Division 1 competition, 0-7 against Southland Conference foes as previously mentioned, and are still winless on the road. Additionally, UT-Arlington has now swept Texas State two years in a row in the regular season. The Bobcats will face off against Southeastern Louisiana in Strahan Coliseum on Wednesday, and the Mavericks will go on the road to Corpus Christi to take on the Islanders. You can listen to Texas State take on the Lady Lions on Stretch Internet at txstatebobcats.com, pregame coverage starts at 6:45 pm and tipoff is at 7.

-TJ Ladusky, KTSW Sports Staff Writer