CHICAGO — The Chicago State women's basketball team (0-11, 0-8 WAC) dropped a 61-41 decision to the Tarleton State Texans (6-12, 2-6 WAC) Sunday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. The Cougars couldn't overcome a cold-shooting first half, converting just 5-of-19 shots (26.3%) but managed cut a 17-point halftime deficit to single digits before a late 6-0 Texans run was too much to overcome.
The February chill carried inside the Jones Convocation Center as both teams started slow. Chicago State was only able to connect on 2-of-10 shooting in the first quarter, including 0-for-2 from beyond the three-point arc, just a day after making all five of their first-half three-point attempts. The score was 2-2 after
Nadia Thorman-McKey (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) converted a layup with 6:45 remaining in the quarter. Tarleton then finished the quarter with a 13-2 run and the Cougars trailed 15-4 after the first quarter of play.
The Texans started the second quarter with a 5-1 run to push the Cougars deficit to 15. At that point, both teams endured an extended scoring drought before back-to-back CSU scores, a jumper by Thorman-McKey and a
Christina Britter (Dunlap, IL/Dunlap ) layup. The Texans closed the quarter with a 9-3 run and a 29-12 halftime lead.
Chicago State warmed up from the floor in the third quarter, coming out of the locker room with an 13-5 run, including a 7-0 spurt to cut the gap to nine, 34-25. Tarleton snapped the skid with a long three and closed the quarter with a 9-5 run of their own, and led by 13 going into the fourth quarter.
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) and Thorman-McKey each contributed seven points during the stanza, and CSU converted 42 percent of their shots.
The teams traded free throws to start the fourth quarter and a 7-1 Cougars run cut the Texans lead to nine, 46-37. The Texans countered with a 10-2 run of their own and the lead was back to 17.
Thorman-McKey led the Cougars with 15 points and Webb added 10 and were the only CSU players in double figures.
Laura Segues (Castelloli, Spain) added seven points, Britter dropped six and Ra'shamani Webb added three to round out the scoring. Britter also led the Cougars with six rebounds.
The Cougars won't be back in action until Friday, March 5 and 6, at home against New Mexico State. Chicago State has a scheduled bye next weekend (Feb. 19-20) and was scheduled to travel to Dixie State (Feb. 26-27) before the Trailblazers opted out of the season, creating the long in-season layoff.
Next:
- Who? New Mexico State
- Where? Jones Convocation Center, Chicago
- When? Friday, March 5, 2021, 2 p.m. CDT
