Huntsville -- Britni Martin scored 21 points including six free throws in the final minute as Sam Houston rallied for a 71-65 Southland Conference women's basketball victory over UT-Arlington Thursday afternoon.
Chanice Smith added 17 points for Sam Houston (13-11, Southland 7-3) as the victory kept the Bearkats atop the league's West Division standings.
The Bearkats trailed 52-51 with 7:25 to play but Smith put the Kats ahead to stay with a three-point basket at 6:58. SHSU outscored the Mavericks 20-13 in the final six and a half minutes of the contest. UTA cut the lead to two points, 61-59 with 2:51 to play, but one of Martin's trio of three-pointers than she hit in 13 attempts helped keep the game out of reach.
UT-Arlington (6-15, Southland 3-6) was led by Tamara Simmons with 24 points and Shalyn Martin with 21 points.
Sam Houston led by as many as 16 points in the first half and were up 37-30 at halftime. But the Mavericks bounced back in the second half to take a five point lead.
"I give credit to my girls to step up and continue to play no matter what obstacles are in front of them," head coach Brenda Nichols said. "We have talked to them a lot about being mentally tough."
Sequeena Thomas added 10 points for Sam Houston. Martin pulled down eight rebounds, assisted on seven baskets and made two steals. Thomas was credited with seven rebounds and Clarke Davis grabbed six. Khamra Echols led both teams with eight assists.
"We have confidence in our team," Smith said. "When you get down, you can't stay down. You have to shift gears and keep going. You can't stay down. We didn't and got the win."
Sam Houston State hits the road for a Saturday 7 p.m. tilt with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Bearkats will return to Johnson Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 19 for a 2 p.m. contest with Central Arkansas.
Tickets for all Sam Houston home athletic events are onsale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
