Women's basketball hosts Ole Miss Tuesday at noon
11/16/2009 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
One thing is certain about Sam Houston's women's basketball clash with the Ole Miss Rebels Tuesday - it will be loud in Johnson Coliseum.
The women's basketball home opener is Huntsville ISD Elementary School Day.
Last year, a women's school record crowd of 2,260 filled the seats for the Bearkats' opener with Southern Mississippi. That crowd made Sam Houston the Southland Conference winner in the 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball "Pack the House" Challenge," a national effort in which conference and institutions compete to build attendance.
Sam Houston lost its first game of the season Saturday, falling 91-52 at Texas Tech. Ole Miss rolled to an 80-42 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Friday in Hammond in the Rebels' opener.
Ole Miss is led by All-Southeastern Conference guard Bianca Thomas who scored a game-high 22 points against the Lions. The Rebel defense limited Southeastern Louisiana to 26.8 percent shooting from the field.
Ole Miss has now won 23 straight games in which they scored at least 80 points.
Senior guard Whitney Smith paced the Bearkats at Lubbock with 14 points, while junior forward Terrah Austin added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
"We played well early, building a six point lead at one point," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said. "But Whitney got in quick foul trouble and the wheels fell off. Everyone on the team knows we can play better and we look to bounce back Tuesday. We're excited about having a quality program like Ole Miss visit Johnson Coliseum and know we can count on our fans to give us a lot of support on the home court."
Ole Miss owns an impressive 32-6 all-time record against teams from the Southland Conference. The Rebels have won 21 of their last 22 games against Southland Conference competition. Tuesday's game will be the first ever meeting on the hardwood between Ole Miss and Sam Houston State.
Attending Tuesday's 12 noon matchup with Ole Miss can help Sam Houston students earn a free T-Shirt. The first 500 SHSU students to attend any combination of three home men's or women's basketball games will win a Bearkat basketball t-shirt courtesy of Student Activities and Bearkat Athletics.
Attendees will be tracked via the BearkatOneCard. For the purposes of the promotion, the men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Monday, November 30, will count as one event only. Sam Students receive free admission to BEarkat home games on presentation of their BearkatOneCard.
Huntsville area fans can purchase tickets on-line now at www.gobearkats.com or by contacting the Sam Houston State athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
