CORPUS CHRISTI – Chanice Smith reached a milestone and the Sam Houston State women extended their lead atop the Southland Conference standings with a 68-53 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Friday night.
Early in the second half Smith caught a pass from Britni Martin on a break and finished off the layup for her 8th point of the night and 1,000th of her career.
After trailing by one at the half, the Bearkats (12-9, 8-1 Southland) wasted little time taking control of the game. After and opening bucket by the Islanders (1-19, 0-9), the Kats rattled off 21 of the next 25 points and never looked back.
“It was a grind for us especially in the first half,” said head coach Brenda Nichols. “I thought at time we were getting frustrated, but came out and played much better in the
The Kats were led in scoring by Jasmine Johnson and Sequeena Thomas who each poured in 14 and Britni Martin finshed the night with 13. Thomas also led the Kats with 15 rebounds.
The Bearkats now have three active players with 1,000 or more points in their career, joining Martin and Thomas who had reached the mark previously.
“She needed 8 points and got her eight points,” Nichols said about Smith reaching the milestone 1,000th point. “She had her whole family here to see it so it was great she was able to get that.”
The Kats, now have a two-game lead in the Southland Conference at the halfway point of the conference season. They will return home on Thursday to take on McNeese, the only team to have beat them so far in Southland Conference play.
Thursday is "Whataburger" Night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. The women's game will tip at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a men's game against the Cowboys at 7:45 p.m. Both games will be televised regionally on the Southland Television Network and ESPN3.
