mast-left
Texas State Women's Basketball Heads to Katy for SLC Tournament

No. 1 seed Bobcats look for first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003

 
 
 

 
2007-08 SLC Player of the Year Joyce Ekworomadu and the Bobcats head to Katy as the No. 1 seed in the 2008 SLC Tournament.
  
 

March 11, 2008

SAN MARCOS -

Complete Release in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

Regular season champion Texas State heads to Katy for the 2008 Southland Conference Tournament, beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. against No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a rematch of last year's first round game.

Last season the Bobcats lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Islanders, who stole an inbounds pass and converted a lay-up in the final seconds to erase a one-point Bobcat lead. This year Texas State is ready for revenge after claiming its first women's basketball regular season championship in school history. The `Cats finished the regular season 20-9 overall and 14-2 in league play.

2007-08 SLC Player of the Year Joyce Ekworomadu, who scored a career-high 29 points in last year's tournament game, finished second in the Southland in scoring at 18.3 points while leading the league in free throw shooting. Ekworomadu also led the conference in three pointers as Texas State finished with the Southland's top scoring offense with a 76.1 scoring average. The Bobcats also led the league in field goal percentage and three point percentage while also out-rebounding all other SLC schools.

All-SLC Third Team member Brooke DeGrate leads the Bobcats in steals, assists and blocks. DeGrate ranked third in the SLC with 2.69 steals per game and posted the best assist-to-turnover ratio in league play. Ashley Cole helps relieve some of the scoring pressure from Ekworomadu, averaging 11.6 points while shooting over 48 percent from the field.

Texas State has also won the last four regular season meetings with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, including a 73-52 decision in Corpus Christi on Jan. 24 and a 76-62 victory on Feb. 21 in the Bobcats' regular season home finale. Ekworomadu and Cole combined for 39 points in each game.

Elisa Beagle, an All-SLC Third Team pick, leads the Islanders with 10.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Mercedes Cooper adds 9.1 points on the offensive end for Corpus. Desiree Green and Shaye Montgomery also net over 8.0 points per game, and Montgomery ranked fifth in the SLC in assists.