Women tangle with Lions Saturday afternoon
1/14/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Two teams seeking to end losing streaks battle Saturday when Sam Houston State plays host to Southeastern Louisiana in a 2 p.m. Southland Conference women's basketball game.
The Bearkats want to end a seven-game losing streak. After 42 days without a home game, the women returned to Johnson Coliseum last Tuesday. Texas Southern handed the Kats an 80-65 loss in the final non-conference game of the 2009-10 season.
Sam Houston women played seven consecutive road games in December and January, matching up with outstanding programs from the Southeastern, Big 12, Mountain West and Conference USA on some of their trips. Sam Houston's last victory came over Jackson State on Dec. 4 in Houston at the Rice tournament.
"Definitely, we were disappointed in the loss Tuesday to Texas Southern, but our focus now is on turning things around against Southeastern Louisiana," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said. "During the month-long, seven-game road swing, I was proud of the way the team kept battling even though they were out-manned at times. The Southland Conference race is a marathon, not a sprint. We've just got to keep working hard."
Southeastern Louisiana stands 6-9 for the year, but have lost four in a row, falling to LSU Tulane, Lamar and Northwestern State.
Quantae Thomas, a 5-11 senior forward, leads Southeastern Louisiana with 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Lions are one of the top defensive squads in the league, limiting their opponents to only 65.1 points per contest.
Sam Houston had its poorest shooting game of the 2009-10 season in the loss to Texas Southern Tuesday night. The Kats shot only 27.6 percent (21-of-76) for the game.
"We couldn't get into a rhythm," Nichols said. "We didn't look good tonight. Shooting 27 percent is not going to win you any ball games."
Sam Houston's trio of four-year seniors is providing the leadership for the women's basketball team this year. Guards Brittany Brooks and Ray Alexander and forward Whitney Smith are combining for 36.2 points a game. Smith is averaging 12.3 points, Brooks 12.2 and Alexander 11.8
Smith is the 10th Sam Houston State women's basketball player to score 1,000 or more career points. The senior has totaled 1,023 points in 99 games as a Bearkat including 55 contests in double figures. Brooks stands 12th in Bearkat career scoring with 893 points in 99 games. She has scored in double figures 39 times.
Sam Houston's fourth senior is forward Therese Hager who came to Huntsville as a junior college transfer last year and provides the Kats rebounding and defensive talent inside. Sophomore Khamra Echols adds 6.6 points per game.
Also playing important roles for Sam Houston this season are 5-9 freshman Chanice Smith (8.3 points per game), 6-2 sophomore Bre Agnew (4.7), 6-0 freshman Sequeena Thomas (4.3) and 6-0 freshman Clarke Davis (3.5).
Tickets for Sam Houston State women's basketball home games are on sale now on line at www.gobearkats.com.
Fans also may purchase tickets at the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in 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.
