A season full of accomplishments
3/11/2011 8:52:00 AM | Women's Basketball
But, has the squad has looked back on all they accomplished during a 17-14 year in 2011, the group looks forward to the future with optimism.
"No way did we want to have the season end in the first round, but when we look at what kind of team we're going to have next year, we can't help but get excited," Sam Houston leading scorer Britni Martin said.
The sophomore from Conroe became only the sixth Sam Houston women's basketball player to receive first team All-Southland Conference honors in the university's 24 years in the league.
Martin led the Southland and ranked 11th nationally in NCAA Division I women's basketball with 89 three point baskets this year Her 494 points in 31 games in 2011 ranked No. 4 among Southland players this season. The total stands as the fifth highest single season total in school history.
"Almost everyone from this team is back," Martin said of a squad that returns 67.9 of the 69.3 points it averaged this season. "Terrah (Austin) stepped in as a starter for us as a senior late in the year, but for the most part, everybody else on the court all year was a freshman, a sophomore or a junior. Add some top new recruits to this group and we are going to be hard to stop next year."
The accomplishments of the 2011 SHSU women's team are many. A program that has not finished among the Southland's top five teams since 2000 and was predicted to finish sixth in the West this year, the Bearkat women rolled up an 11-5 league record to tie with UTSA as 2011 Southland Conference West Division co-champions.
The West Division title is the Bearkats' first in 24 years of NCAA Division I women's competition.
Completing the 2011 season with a 17-14 record, Sam Houston nailed down its first above .500 year since the 1995-96 Bearkat squad went 18-10.
Sam Houston tied for third place in the 2011 overall league standings. Only once before - in 1996 when Kat women finished third in the Southland with a 13-5 league record - has an SHSU women's team equaled that finish.
In 24 years at the NCAA Division I level, SHSU has posted winning season marks only twice before: 18-10 in 1996 and 18-9 in 1988. Sam Houston State University head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols was the leading scorer for the 1988 squad.
The 2011 Sam Houston women's basketball season has been a year for remarkable accomplishments.
The Bearkats opened non-conference play with a 6-3 record, the best start to an SHSU women's season since the 1991 squad opened 6-3.
In Southland Conference action, Sam Houston jumped out to a 5-0 start, tying the 1998 squad that also started 5-0 for best start in the university's 24 years in the league.
Martin was not the only women's player to rank high in Southland Conference statistics categories.
All-Southland Conference forward Sequeena Thomas ranked 8th in scoring (14.4), 2nd in rebounds (10.1) and 4th in blocks (1.6). Thomas stands 29th nationally in rebounding and ranks 14th in NCAA Division I women's basketball with 20 games with both double figure points and rebounds.
Chanice Smith ended the season ranked 17th in scoring (12.1) in the league. Khamra Echols was the league's second-leading player in assists (4.6) and ranked 7th in steals (2.3).
"The silver lining in our loss at the tournament Tuesday was being able to reflect that this is a young team and we are all going to be back next year," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said. "This is such a great group to coach and we're going to have lots more fun next season."
