SAN MARCOS – Senior Vivian Ewalefo and sophomore Monica Gibbs combined for 36 of UTSA’s 60 points, but it wasn't enough, as Texas State held on for a 63-60 victory on Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.
Ewalefo posted a game-high 19 points for UTSA (9-15, 5-7 SLC), while Gibbs recorded her team-leading eighth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds and also dished out a game-high seven assists.
UTSA went on an 8-3 run to tie the game at 40 with 14:58 remaining, but Texas State increased its lead to 47-42 when Ashley Leffingwell sank a short jumper with 9:42 to go. Freshman Lysney Freeman's break-away layup tied the game at 49. Erica Putman’s put back gave the Bobcats a 51-49 edge, but Bogan’s baseline jumper to tied the game for the fourth time in the half.
Junior Terrie Davis’ 3-pointer and Ewalefo’s jumper gave UTSA its first lead of the second half at 59-58 with 2:37 to play, but Ryann Bradford’s jumper put Texas State atop by one point (61-60) with 2:19 left. DeGrate connected on a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three with 11 seconds left on the clock. Davis’ 3-point attempt to tie the game rimmed out as time expired.
Putman paced the Bobcats (17-9, 10-3 SLC) with a team-high 17 points and a game-best 15 rebounds.
The Roadrunners built their largest lead of the game (26-16) with 8:27 left in the first half, as Ewalefo scored 12 points. Texas State used a 10-2 run and took its first lead of the game at the 3:30 mark of the first half. Ewalefo tied the game at 32, but the Bobcats used a 5-0 run to end the half and went into halftime with a 37-32 advantage.
UTSA returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 22 against McNeese State. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
