SAN MARCOS, Texas – Ayriel Anderson tallied 21 points and five assists, and Texas State finished the game with an 8-2 run to take a 67-57 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Thursday evening in Strahan Coliseum.

Angel McGowan scored 17 points to lead Georgia Southern (4-12, 1-6), while Patrice Butler added 13 points and seven rebounds. Trellanie English-Lurry contributed eight points off the bench, and Briana Jones notched six points, six rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.

Kileah Mays tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for Texas State (11-7, 6-3), and Erin Peoples finished with 11 points.

A layup by Sierra Kirkland trimmed Texas State's lead to two points at 53-51, and the Eagles got six straight defensive stops over the next three minutes of game time but could not convert on the offensive end. Whitney Apari and Anderson scored consecutive layups for Texas State to push the margin to six. 

Alexis Sams trimmed the margin to four points with 4:19 remaining, but Taeler Deer hit a jumper for the Bobcats. Butler answered with a layup for Georgia Southern, but Deer responded with a 3-pointer from the corner to make the score 62-55 with 2:08 to go. The Eagles turned it over on their next possession and were forced to foul. The Bobcats made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to seal the win.

Both teams shot around 40 percent from the field, but Texas State hit two more triples in the game and held a 13-3 edge in free throws as the Bobcats were whistled for just four fouls in the contest and one in the second half.

Ericka May scored four points in an 8-0 run as Texas State pushed ahead for a 27-18 lead. Kirkland's jumper in the paint sparked an 8-2 Eagles run to finish the half. McGowan scored four points during the stretch.

The Eagles cap a three-game road swing at UL Monroe Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Eastern.

All-session ticket books for this year's Sun Belt Conference Basketball Championships March 11-15, in New Orleans are available at the Georgia Southern ticket office. Call 1-800-GSU-WINS!

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.