SAN MARCOS, Texas (1/4/2020) – Stout defense and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch made a difference for Arkansas State on Saturday, as the Red Wolves earned key defensive stops and hit five of six free throws in the last six seconds to take a 56-53 victory over Texas State at Strahan Arena.
A-State (4-9, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) forced the Bobcats (7-6, 0-2) into 17 turnovers and went 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) at the charity stripe en route to the victory, which halted a four-game losing skid and gave Matt Daniel his first conference win as the Red Wolves' head coach. The win over the Bobcats also ended a four-game losing streak in the series and improved A-State to 8-4 all-time against Texas State.
"It's amazing how good 'normal' feels," Daniel said after the victory. "We need to get to the point where we're not overjoyed by these games, even though we should still enjoy them because they're hard to win. I'm just so proud of the kids. Everybody who played, when their number was called, they were ready to go. We kept our composure when things didn't go our way. We needed every bit of it today."
Jireh Washington led A-State with a game-high 16 points on four made baskets, but went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe to go along with six rebounds. Morgan Wallace added 13 points and narrowly missed a double-double with a game-high nine boards. Both players played all 40 minutes for the Red Wolves.
As a team, A-State snagged 15 steals while the Bobcats only nabbed four and dished out nine assists on 16 made shots. The Red Wolves also did a sound job of holding onto the ball, coughing up just nine turnovers.
Da'Nasia Hood led Texas State with 14 points on three three-pointers, while Avionne Alexander added 13 on 6-of-8 from the field.
The game's opening quarter was tightly contested throughout, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. After Bailey Holle opened the contest with a three, Peyton Martin hit a deep two to make it 3-2 early. Kayla Williams then tied things up at 5-all on a corner three. An Alexander jumper handed the lead back to the Bobcats, but a Jada Ford three and Washington layup gave the Red Wolves a 10-7 lead.
The Bobcats closed out the first on a 4-0 run capped off by a deep two by Alexander at the horn to give TXST an 11-10 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Down 14-12 with under eight to go in the half, A-State went on a strong 8-0 run that included a deep three by Madison Heckert with just under five minutes left to make it a two-score lead at 20-14. About a minute later, Maggie Mahan gave the Red Wolves their largest lead of the half at 23-16 with 3:48 remaining. The Bobcats closed the half on a 4-0 with a three by Bailey Holle and a free throw by Hood to make it 23-21 Red Wolves at the half.
The Bobcats opened the second half with a pair of treys by Hood to reclaim a 27-24 lead before an 8-3 A-State run moved the Scarlet and Black back ahead 31-30 into the third-quarter media timeout with 4:47 to go. Wallace led the charge in that run, scoring five of the eight points.
Wallace continued to heat up as the quarter went on, scoring five straight to give the Red Wolves a five-point advantage. After an Alexander jumper made it a three-point game, Heckert added a pair of free throws to once again make it a five-point lead. The Bobcats tied things up with 1:58 to go, but Ford knocked down a pull-up three to give her team a three-point lead. Hood hit a jumper with 37 seconds left that made it 41-40 A-State leading into the final quarter.
Hood opened the fourth with a trey with 8:51 to go to give Texas State a two-point lead up 43-41, but a three-point play by Washington then gave A-State a 44-43 lead. The Bobcats responded with a three-point play by Alexander before the Red Wolves went on a 7-0 run that forced Texas State to call a timeout with 5:43 to go.
The Bobcats cut the deficit down to one at 51-50, but A-State kept them from taking the lead with those five free throws despite a trey by Brooke Holle with three seconds left.
The Red Wolves return home to the friendly confines of First National Bank Arena for three straight home contests, starting with a meeting with Georgia State on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. The game will be aired live on ESPN+ while the broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Radio Network on 95.3 The Ticket.
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.
