Women's Basketball Stops Slump, Crushes Colonels

After going on the road and coming up short against the SLC-leading Lamar Cardinals, the Bobcats were looking to get their second victory in conference play on Pink-Out night for the annual Pink Zone game. The Bobcats' opponent was the 1-9 Nicholls State Colonels, who like the Bobcats were ranked dead last in their division. The Bobcats were able to claim victory against the Nicholls State Colonels by a final score of 62-50. The win gave the Bobcats their second victory overall in their conference play.

The Bobcats came into this game with the mentality that this was a must win game because neither wanted to have the worst record in the conference. Both teams played like their records at the beginning of the game. Neither team could shoot well and turned over the ball at a rapid rate. The Bobcats shot 38% from the field in the first half, but their defense at times was very stifling and stingy when it came to the Colonels scoring points. The Bobcats held the Colonels to 31% shooting in the first half, and limit them to 14 % from 3 point range. Going into half the Bobcats were able to force 12 turnovers and take a lead of 26 -23.

In the second half, the Bobcats came out and scored 6 unanswered points, extending their lead to 10. Kelsey Krupa led the charge by nailing 2 straight 3 pointers and shifting the momentum clearing in the Bobcats favor. The Colonels made a rally and started to feed off their leading scorer Ricshanda Bickham, who went on a tear and got her team back in the game. Texas State continued its good play by shooting 40% and holding the Colonels to 33% from the field. At times it looked like the Bobcats defense was so effective that it kept Nicholls from being able to get a shot off.

The leading scorers for the Bobcats were Kelsey Krupa, who shot 5 of 10 from the field and sizzling 4-6 from 3 point range. Also, the fab freshman Diamond Ford continued her awesome play by scoring 14 points and 5 rebounds. NSU was led by Rashanda Bickham, who scored a game high 27 points. However, she had to hoist up 24 shots to get there. The Bobcats were able to claim victory in win by a margin more than 10 points for the first time since December. After the game was over, there was a sense relief and excitement for the 'Cat coaches and players.

The Bobcats improve their record 6-17 overall in the season , and 2-10 in conference play. They get a little over a week to prepare to for a road trip to Nacogdoches, where they will take on the SFA Ladyjacks of the SLC East Division. The game will tip off at 7pm on Wednesday. You can catch the call live on 89.9 FM KTSW and ktsw.net.

-Nathan Castro, KTSW Sports Staff Writer