Box Score
 
EDINBURG, Texas – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs women's basketball team fell to the Texas State Bobcats 66-61 on Friday at the UTPA Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of that included 1,900 area high school and middle school students involved in the AVID program.
 
Trailing 4-3 in the opening minutes, Bianca Torre hit a free throw and Adanna Opara and Torre hit lay-ups to cap a 5-0 run, giving the Broncs (1-2) a 7-4 lead with 14:30 remaining in the first half. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, but with the game tied at 13-13, the Bobcats (3-0) went on a 5-0 run to take the lead. The Broncs scored the next four points, but Diamond Forde hit a three-pointer to put the Bobcats up 21-17. LaQuita Garner responded with a pair of three-pointers while scoring seven of her nine first half points to spark a 14-2 run to take a 31-23 lead with 2:23 remaining.
 
Garner finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 4-8 from behind the arc. She also had a game-high two blocks. Torre scored 10 points with four assists while Donna Jackson scored 12 points with seven rebounds. Erin Lewis tied Jackson for the team-lead in rebounds with seven and dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Ashley Ezeh's lay-up with 14:05 remaining in the second half helped the Bobcats pull within 37-36, but Jackson hit a pair of baskets as the Broncs went on a 9-2 run to go up 46-38.
 
Jasmine Baugus hit a lay-up and two free throws followed by a Kelsey Krupa three-pointer as the Bobcats climbed within 46-45. The Bobcats took their first lead of the half with 6:58 at 49-48 on a lay-up by Diamond Ford, but Franchesca Simon hit a three-pointer to give the Broncs the lead back on the next possession. Ford hit a three with 4:19 remaining to put the Bobcats up 52-51 and they led for the rest of the game.
 
Ford finished with a game-high 21 points while Ezeh scored 18 points.
 
The Broncs hit 24-of-65 shots (36.9%) compared to 23-of-67 (34.3%) by the Bobcats.
 
The Broncs kick-off a stretch of six-straight road games on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. when they visit the University of Texas-El Paso Miners.
 
The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics competes at the NCAA Division I classification. UTPA, formerly known as Pan American College and Pan American University, is a part of the University of Texas System of Schools. The Broncs compete in 14 varsity sports; men's and women's basketball, golf, tennis, track and field, and cross country, along with women's volleyball and men's baseball. In 1963, then known as Pan American College, the Broncs men's basketball program won the NAIA National Championship with a 73-62 victory over Western Carolina. In 2008 UTPA joined the new all-sports division of the Great West Conference.