Chanice Smith scored 18 points and Sequeena Thomas added 17 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead Sam Houston to a 62-53 victory over UTSA in the opening Southland Conference women's basketball game for both teams.
The Bearats ended a five-game losing streak by out-scoring UTSA 18-8 in the final 8:47 of play. The lead changed hands six times during the contest with the Roadrunners' last lead at 45-44.
Ashleigh Franklin led UTSA with 16 points and 19 rebounds. Britni Martin added 13 points and eight boards for Sam Houston.
The win gave the Bearkat women their first winning streak over UTSA since 1999. The Roadrunners ran up 17 straight victories over SHSU from 2000 to last year's 73-72 overtime victory by the Kats, also in Huntsville.
Neither team shot well, with Sam Houston going 22-of-68 from the field (32.4 percent) and UTSA 18-of-68 (26.5 percent).
"I think the big thing is, coming off the road, we talked about being mentally tough. It doesn't matter if we make a mistake, we've just got to get positives in return," SHSU head coach Brenda Nichols said. "We're not a great rebounding team, but this afternoon we were definitely getting the putbacks. When you can start doing that stuff, you're going to be in control of the game."
Taking a seven-point advantage into the break, the Bearkats, who improved to 1-0 in SLC and 7-8 overall, struggled to get points in the first nine and half minutes of the second half. The Roadrunners, though, were swishing jump shots, hitting layups and converting from the free-throw line.
Just before the midway point of the second, UTSA (0-1, 4-10) had turned a 34-27 deficit into a five-point lead at 43-38 with 11:38 to play.
"In those stretches when we couldn't score, coach just told us to be patient and play defense," Sam Houston State sophomore post Sequeena Thomas said. "We swung the ball and waited for our shots. We just used our patience to get to the basket."
Sparked by a 3-pointer from Thomas, Sam Houston went on a run, outscoring the Roadrunners 16-4 over the next eight-plus minutes.
"We penetrated and then eventually our shots started falling and we got the lead back," Thomas said. "We held our composure and didn't let them retake the lead. We were on our home court and we weren't about to lose on our home court."
Thomas's 18 rebounds and six blocked shots both were career highs. The 18 rebounds are the most by a Bearkat woman since Brenda Abakuwe pulled down 21 boards against McNeese in 2001. The six blocks tie as the third best performance by an SHSU woman. Sirena Autman holds the school record with eight blocks against Baylor in 1989 and seven versus Southwest Texas in 1990.
Sam Houston kept UTSA from getting offensive rebounds down the stretch, which eliminated second-chance opportunities. UTSA post Alysse Davis pulled the Roadrunners to within five points at 56-51 with a little more than two points to play.
The Bearkats, though, kept the game from getting away from them as Smith, Khamra Echols and Jaleesa Thomas all sunk their free throws to ice the game and preserve the win.
The Bearkats hit the road this week. Sam Houston will play at Texas-Arlington on Wednesday, then at Nicholls in Thibodaux, La., on Saturday.
