SAN MARCOS, Texas (Interstat) — The Southern Mississippi Lady Eagles used a dominant first quarter and a balanced offensive attack to secure a 76-62 victory over the Texas State Bobcats in a non-conference women’s basketball game Wednesday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.

Southern Mississippi, improving to 11-6, set the tone early, sprinting to a 21-12 lead after the opening period. The Lady Eagles never trailed, weathering a few Texas State pushes by consistently answering with key baskets. The Bobcats fell to 7-9 with the loss.

The most critical sequence of the game came late in the third quarter, just as Texas State threatened to cut deeply into a Southern Mississippi lead that had been as high as 14 points. The Bobcats, fueled by Taleiyah Gibbs and Kyra Anderson, had trimmed the deficit to 40-36 with under three minutes left in the period. Southern Mississippi, which had seen its offensive flow stutter momentarily, responded with a decisive 7-0 run. It began with a Hayleigh Breland three-pointer, followed by a Jakayla Johnson layup and then a Johnson three-pointer, assisted by Breland. That spurt pushed the lead back to 47-36 and effectively stifled Texas State’s momentum for good. The Bobcats would not get within single digits again until the final minute of the game.

Johnson, a 5-foot-9 guard from Clinton, Mississippi, led all scorers with 19 points, adding nine rebounds in 28 minutes. She was instrumental in the Lady Eagles’ third-quarter response. Carly Keats, a 5-7 guard from Philadelphia, Mississippi, provided 17 points, six rebounds and three assists. Breland, a 5-8 guard from Wiggins, Mississippi, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Texas State was led by Kyra Anderson’s 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Taleiyah Gibbs added 15 points and six rebounds for the Bobcats, who struggled from beyond the arc, making only 2 of 9 three-point attempts. Southern Mississippi hit 9 of 26 from deep.

The Lady Eagles controlled the glass, outrebounding Texas State 45-34 and grabbing 16 offensive rebounds to the Bobcats’ six. Southern Mississippi also dished out eight assists to Texas State’s four and recorded eight steals. Both teams committed 15 turnovers.

Southern Mississippi shot 36.5 percent from the field overall, while Texas State connected on 43.1 percent of its shots. The difference came at the free-throw line, where the Lady Eagles made 21 of 28 attempts compared to the Bobcats’ 10-of-16 performance.

The game drew an attendance of 2,858. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Southern Mississippi entered with a narrow 50.60 percent probability to win.

Southern Mississippi next travels to face Arkansas State on Saturday. Texas State returns to action at home against Troy on Saturday.