HUNTSVILLE, TX - Bianca Thomas went 9-of-18 from the field, pulled down 10 rebounds and scored 25 points to lead the University of Mississippi to a 95-61 women's basketball victory over Sam Houston State Tuesday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.
Shantell Black and Katorra Lewis each added 14 points for Ole Miss (2-0). Whitney Smith led Sam Houston State (0-2) with 21 points and eight rebounds.
The contest was played before a crowd of 2,456 fans as Tuesday was Huntsville Elementary School Day at Johnson Coliseum.
"First thing about this game - the crowd was awesome," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said. "The whole team wants to give a 'shout out' to the Huntsville Independent School district for bringing all those kids over here. They were so enthusiastic and that carried over to the players."
The contest was tied twice early, but Ole Miss quickly took control, building a 52-31 halftime lead. The Rebels were up by 42 points late in the second half.
Ole Miss dominated under the boards, out-scoring Sam Houston 42-26 in the paint and out-rebounding Sam Houston 56-30.
Brittany Brooks scored 13 points to give Sam Houston two players in double figures. Ray Alexander and Khamra Echols each added seven points. The Rebel defense forced 20 Sam Houston turnovers and held the Kats to 38.9 percent from the field (21 -of-54). r
"Our girls battled hard, but Mississippi's size took the better of us," Nichols said. "We've got to get better at boxing out. But the team never gave up. Playing against an excellent team like Ole Miss will only make us better for Southland Conference and that's the number one goal right now."
The Sam Houston women now take to the road for a two-game road swing to Louisiana. The Kats will play Centenary in Shreveport Friday night and at Grambling on Monday.
The next home game for the Bearkat women will be Monday, Nov. 30, at 5 p.m. against Oral Roberts. Attending the contest 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.
