The Texas State women’s basketball team won in thrilling overtime fashion on Wednesday night in Corpus Christi, Texas, against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 78-76. The victory marks the first for the Bobcats in Southland Conference play this year.
The Bobcats took the lead at the 18:00 minute mark and never looked back in the first half, with a stellar performance from Diamond Ford, heading into the half up 32-27. Ford was just as rock solid in the second half as she was in the first, and continued to put points on the board as she scored four of her team’s first five points. The game got extremely tight when the Islanders made a run and eventually tied the score at 54 with a little over eight minutes left in regulation. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi even managed to take a four point advantage at the 6:30 mark. With the game tied at 67 and four seconds left in regulation, Diamond Ford pushed the ball up the floor and was able to get a good look at a three ball that just didn’t fall and forced overtime.
Overtime was just as exciting as regulation when the Bobcats took the lead 76-71 with 2:32 left on the clock, but the pesky Islanders would not go away without a fight, managing to tie the game up at 77 with under a minute left. After many missed free throw opportunities by the Islanders, Texas State put the ball back in Ford’s hands as she drove the entire length of the floor and was able to draw a foul call with 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Calm as can be, Ford nailed both free throws that saw her cap a perfect night from the line (13-13). This was the third time in her career where she has hit thirteen or more free throws in a game. The Islanders didn’t make much of their last opportunity when they threw the inbounds pass the full length of the court and it went out of bounds giving the Bobcats their first Southland Conference victory.
Texas State got excellent play inside from Chika Ofoegbu and great guard play from Mallory Williams. Diamond Ford finished the night with 27 points. The Bobcats return to action on Saturday against UT-Arlington at 4:00 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.
Rion Hamilton, KTSW Sports
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