Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas - UTA found the Texas State's version of TNT as explosive as the real thing here Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcat front court duo of Tori Talbert and Tamara Thompson combined for 43 points in a 67-59 victory over the Mavericks in Southland Conference women's basketball action at Strahan Coliseum.

The win lifts Texas State (11-9, 8-1) into a first-place tie with UTA (13-7, 8-1) in the league standings and snapped the Mavs' school-record tying eight-game winning streak.

UTA was led in scoring by this week's SLC Player of the Week, Terra Wallace, with 18. Ashley Bobb added 15 points and Rola Ogunoye chipped in 13 for UTA.

Talbert scored a game-high 24 points and Thompson matched a career-high with 19 for TXST. Forward Joyce Ekworomadu scored nine points as the Bobcats starting front court tallied 52 points.

Texas State sealed the win with a 16-2 run to end the first half and open the second half.

After UTA cut the lead to 30-29 on a Wallace baseline jumper with 35 seconds to play in the half, Texas State's Jenna Hoffman canned two free throws for a 32-29 halftime lead.

Talbert went to work to open the second half with 10 points during the decisive run. After she nailed a turnaround jumper in the paint, Texas State had its largest lead of the game, 50-34 with 12:39 to play. UTA was ice cold in the second half, making just three of 20 field goal attempts in the first 15:00 of the half.

Texas State made its first 21 free throws of the game and finished 26 of 28 (92.9 percent) at the foul line.

UTA made a late run, thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Wallace cut the lead to 64-57 with :26 seconds to play. A putback by Tojjinay Thompson made it 65-59 with :04 to play before Texas State ended the game on two Jeana Hoffman free throws.

UTA could not stop the Texas State inside game in the first half. Thompson and Talbert combined for 25 of the Bobcats' 32 first-half points.

Four straight Thompson free throws gave TSU a 21-18 lead with 5:16 to play in the first half.

Texas State went on a 7-2 run late in the first half to take the lead for good, 24-18, after an Ekworomadu three-pointer with 4:33 left in the half.

UTA returns to action Thursday when they host Texas-San Antonio at 7 p.m.

NOTES: The 67 points allowed by UTA was the most in an SLC game this season and the most since fourth-ranked Texas scored 69 on Dec. 21... The Mavs extended the streak of consecutive games to make a three-point field goal to 94 games... Wallace has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games.

Texas State 67, UTA 59

Texas-Arlington (13-7, 8-1)

Bobb 5-15 4-8 15, Ogunoye 4-9 5-7 13, Buchanan 0-3 0-0 0, Wesley 2-9 2-2 7, Wallace 6-14 3-3 18, Thompson 1-1 0-0 2, Abanobi 0-2 2-2 2, Graves 0-1 0-0 0, Riles 0-2 0-0 0, Lane 0-2 0-0 0, White 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 18-59 18-24 59.

Texas State (11-9, 8-1)

Ekworomadu 3-8 1-2 9, Thompson 5-6 8-8 19, Talbert 7-15 10-10 24, McGruder 0-4 0-0 0, Jea. Hoffman 2-5 2-2 8, Perkins 0-0 0-0 0, Jen. Hoffman 0-2 3-4 3, Cook 0-0 2-2 2, Putnam 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 18-41 26-28 67.

Halftime: TXST 32, UTA 29. Three-point field goals: UTA 5-22 (Wallace 3-8, Bobb 1-4, Wesley 1-6, Buchanan 0-2, Abanobi 0-1, White 0-1), TXST 5-10 (Jea. Hoffman 2-3, Ekworomadu 2-3, Thompson 1-1, McGruder 0-1, Jen. Hoffman 0-2). Rebounds: UTA 35 (Bobb 8), TXST 36 (Talbert 7). Fouls: UTA 24, TXST 22. Fouled out: Wallace. Assists: UTA 8 (Wallace 4), TXST 14 (McGruder 4). Turnovers: UTA 15 (Buchanan 3), TXST 19 (McGruder and Thompson 4). Blocks: UTA 5 (Wallace 3), TXST 0. Steals: UTA 11 (Ogunoye 3), TXST 7 McGruder 3). Att.: 1,616.

- utamavs.com -