With back-to-back postseason appearances for the only time in school history, women’s basketball head coach Zenarae Antoine and Texas State University have agreed to a contract extension through the 2017-18 season. Antoine has been at the helm of the Bobcat program since 2011.
“I appreciate what Coach Antoine has done with our women’s basketball program,” stated Director of Athletics Dr. Larry Teis. “Each year, our basketball team has shown improvement both on the court and in the classroom while transitioning through three different conferences.”
“Texas State feels like home,” said Antoine. “It felt like home the day I interviewed and it feels even more comfortable now that my family and I are established in the community.”
Since making the jump to the Sun Belt Conference, Antoine has led the Bobcats to back-to-back semifinal appearances in the SBC Tournament as well as a pair of invitations to the Women’s Basketball Invitational. As a member of the Sun Belt Conference, Texas State is 23-15 in conference play.
In addition to her team’s athletic success on the court, Texas State has shown improvement in the classroom as well. In 2015, senior Meghan Braeuer became just the third student-athlete in school history and first under Antoine to earn Capital One Academic All-District First-Team honors. Since arriving in San Marcos, Antoine has had 18 student-athletes earn All-Conference Academic awards including 12 in the SBC.
“Over the past four years, the growth at Texas State has been tremendous,” added Antoine. “Whether it be in the athletic fields or in the classroom, it’s just a really exciting time to continue to build upon everything we’ve been doing here at this wonderful university.”
In its first season in the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Texas State went above and beyond preseason expectations. The Bobcats finished tied for third place after being chosen ninth in the SBC preseason poll. The Bobcats finished the season with a 16-16 record, the second most wins for Antoine since arriving in San Marcos in 2011.
Antoine has now had two, 17-win seasons including a 17-15 record in 2014-15. She has guided three players (Diamond Ford, Ashley Ezeh, and Erin Peoples) to over 1,000 points in their careers with senior guard Ayriel Anderson quickly approaching the milestone with 902 career points.
In Antoine’s first season with Texas State, she led the Bobcats to one of the best turnarounds in school history by taking a 9-20 team the year before and turning it into a 17-14 team the next season. She also led Texas State during the 2011-12 season to its first conference tournament win since 2003.
“As the program continues to grow with new staff members and a competitive recruiting class, the future of this program is bright,” added Teis. “Additionally, the renovation of Strahan Coliseum will provide our coaches with the tools necessary to make Texas State Women’s Basketball not only the best in the Sun Belt Conference, but give us the chance to become a program that competes each year in the NCAA tournament. Coach Antoine is, without a doubt, the right coach to continue leading our program as we move forward.”
“I really appreciate the opportunity that Dr. Trauth, Dr. Teis, and Ms. Tracy Shoemake have given me to continue to build upon this program,” stated Antoine. “Our sights are always on winning championships and I look forward to our continued success together.”
http://www.txstatebobcats.com/news/2015/8/20/WBB_0820155131.aspx
Photo Courtesy Texas State Athletics
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