After trailing by seven at halftime the Sam Houston State women's basketball team battled in the second half for a narrow 65-64 win over Stephen F. Austin Saturday at Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats won consecutive games for the first time this season and improved to 4-4 in Southland play.

It was a total team effort for Sam Houston, with several players making key baskets down the stretch. It took more than 30 minutes of game time before SHSU was able to grab the lead. The final 10 minutes of the game were back-and-forth.

“Anytime you knock off Stephen F. Austin it's very exciting,” head coach Brenda Welch-Nicholls said. “This was a huge game for us to come in on our home court and really take advantage of it. It really was a total team effort. It was a battle inside and before the game I told our players it was going to come down to post play. Our post players really battled.”

A layup by Taylor Dorsey gave the Bearkats their first lead of the game 48-46 with just under eight minutes to play, setting up the great finish.

Shernise Robertson was the Kats leading scorer again with 21 points, including 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. She hit two big free-throws with 12 seconds on the clock to extend SHSU's lead to three-points.

Jazmin Wiley finished with 10 points in the game while Shadijah Moore added eight points and five rebounds. Morghen Day and Dorsey each finished with seven points. Jasmine Robinson, who had two huge baskets in the final minutes, and Saundra Guillory each scored six points.

SFA jumped out to an early 8-1 lead before the Kats went on an 8-1 run to tie the game 9-9 with just under 13 minutes left in the first half. Just as soon as Sam Houston tied the game, Stephen F. Austin went down the floor and hit a three-pointer to retake the lead. The same scenario played out a moment later when the Kats tied the game 12-12, only to see SFA hit a trey to retake the lead.

The Bearkats kept the game within three points for the majority of the first half but SFA closed the half on an 8-4 run to hold a 30-23 lead at the break. A pair of free-throws by Saundra Guillory in the final minute helped SHSU keep it close.

SFA's senior center Porsha Roberts' 10 points helped the LadyJacks outscore the Bearkats 16-8 in the paint during the first period.

Sam Houston had a great start to the second half, outscoring SFA 12-5 to tie the game 35-35. Morghen Day hit a three-pointer to level the game, but just as SFA had done twice earlier, they immediately answered with a three.

Sam Houston held Roberts to just six points in the second half as she finished with a team-high 16 points. Tierany Henderson added 13 points for SFA.

The Kats will have their next four games at home, starting with Lamar Thursday at 6:30 p.m.