HUNTSVILLE -- Senior guard Ray Alexander scored 19 points including seven free throws in the final 50 seconds as Sam Houston State upset the Southland Conference women's basketball leader Lamar 73-65 Wednesday at Johnson Coliseum.
Sam Houston (7-16 4-7 Southland) limited the Cardinals to 32 percent shooting (24-of-75), taking the lead late in the first half and never giving it up. The Bearkats led by as many as 13 in the second half.
Lamar (19-6 9-2 Southland) was led by Darika Hill with 29 points and 16 rebounds. The Cardinals cut the Bearkat margin to three points, 66-63, on a 3-pointer by Jenna Plumley with 1:01 to play, but Alexander hit seven free throws in a row to hold off the rally.
"This is a great win for these kids. They've kept believing in spite of some of the heart breaking losses we've had recently," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said. "We were really aggressive on defense tonight and never let them get a rhythm."
Sam Houston hit 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field. Other Bearkats in double figures were Brittany Brooks with 15 points, Bre Agnew 14 and Whitney Smith 13. Brooks, at 5-4, led the Kats with 14 rebounds.
Kalis Loyd had 15 points for Lamar.
Early in the contest, the lead changed hands five times. Brooks hit a 3-pointer to make the score 28-26 with 2:45 to play in the first half and the Kats never trailed again. Sam Houston led 33-28 at intermission and, for only the second time this year, out-scored an opponent in the second half. SHSU totaled 40 points to Lamar's 37 in the second period.
"We followed our game plan tonight," Nichols said. "Before the game, we talked about how important it was to play some tough defense. The girls listened and really got after it."
Sam Houston State plays another home contest Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Bearkats play host to UTSA.
Bearkat athletic tickets are on sale online now at www.gobearkats.com or at the Sam Houston State 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 is (936) 294-1729.
SAM HOUSTON 73, LAMAR 65
02/17/10 6:30 pm at Huntsville, TX (Johnson Coliseum)
LAMAR (19-6 9-2 SLC)
Hill, Darika 12-25 2-3 29; Loyd, Kalis 6-12 3-8 15; Smith, Trashanna 2-5 5-5 9; Plumley, Jenna 2-18 2-2 8; Williams, Brittney 2-7 0-0 4; Henderson, Jasmin 0-1 0-0 0; Green, Ang 0-2 0-0 0; Heithoff, Danielle 0-1 0-0 0; Crawford, Ashley 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-75 12-18 65.
SAM HOUSTON STATE (7-16 4-7 SLC)
Alexander, Ray 4-7 9-10 19; Brooks, Brittany 6-16 0-0 15; Agnew, Bre 7-15 0-0 14; Smith, Whitney 6-10 1-2 13; Smith, Chanice 2-9 0-2 5; Thomas, Sequeena 2-4 0-1 5; Davis, Clarke 1-5 0-0 2; Hager, Therese 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 10-15 73.
Lamar............................... 28 37 - 65
Sam Houston State............. 33 40 - 73
3-point goals--Lamar 5-27 (Hill, Darika 3-7; Plumley, Jenna 2-13; Smith,
Trashanna 0-1; Henderson, Jasmin 0-1; Green, Ang 0-1; Crawford, Ashley 0-2;
Loyd, Kalis 0-2), Sam Houston State 7-23 (Brooks, Brittany 3-9; Alexander,
Ray 2-3; Thomas, Sequeena 1-2; Smith, Chanice 1-6; Agnew, Bre 0-3). Fouled
out--Lamar-None, Sam Houston State-None. Rebounds--Lamar 50 (Hill, Darika
16), Sam Houston State 45 (Brooks, Brittany 14). Assists--Lamar 18 (Plumley,
Jenna 7), Sam Houston State 23 (Alexander, Ray 8; Brooks, Brittany 8). Total
fouls--Lamar 18, Sam Houston State 14. Technical fouls--Lamar-None, Sam
Houston State-None. A-455
