The Bearkats withstood a pair of Houston Baptist runs at the end of each half to pull away and win 85-68 in a nonconference women's basketball game Tuesday night at Johnson Coliseum.

Sam Houston State jumped out to a 13-point first-half lead, at 26-13, with 7:49 left in the first half before HBU went on a 14-4 run. The Huskies closed the lead to just three points at 30-27 after a three-pointer from Shanice Steenholdt.

The game remained tight over the next several minutes, with the Huskies cutting the Kat lead to just two points at halftime. After taking the 13-point lead, SHSU turned it over five times to let the Huskies back into the game. The Kats totaled nine turnovers in the first half while HBU had just six.  

"It wasn't pretty but we won," SHSU head coach Brenda Nichols said. "Taylor Dorsey did a great job coming off the bench to give us a spark."

Nyha Carter and Taylor Dorsey each scored 17 points to lead the Kats. Jasmine Johnson scored 15 points and dished out eight assists. Angela Beadle put up a double-double, with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Erin McGarrachan led all scorers with 21 points. She also led the Huskies with eight rebounds and six assists.

The Bearkats led by as much as 20 in the second half but HBU was able to cut into the Kats lead again, getting within 11 points with five minutes to play.

Sam Houston is back at home Friday at 11:30 a.m. against A&M-Commerce for the annual Pack the House game.