Pack The House Vs. Our Lady of the Lake Friday
11/19/2015 7:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
One thing is for certain Friday at 11 a.m. when Our Lady of the Lake from San Antonio comes to visit Sam Houston for a non-conference women's basketball game.
Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum will be rocking and loud.
Friday marks the eighth annual "Pack the House" Challenge game with more than 2,500 elementary students from Walker County area schools bused to the campus to watch NCAA Division I women's basketball.
Seven years ago, in the first "Pack the House" contest, a school women's basketball record crowd of 2,261 saw the Bearkats play Southern Misssissippi. Each season, the attendance has grown with a high of 2,457 in 2013 for A&M-Commerce.
"It's so much fun for the coaches and players to have all the kids there," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. "If any fans haven't experienced a Pack the House game, it's an experience that they will not want to miss."
"Pack the House" is national effort by NCAA Division I in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance. Almost two-thirds of the Division I membership - 184 institutions - participated in the effort last year that attracted more than 559,000 fans.
"Our girls really look forward to the 'Pack the House' game. With all those kids in the coliseum, it's just a great atmosphere," Welch-Nichols said. "It's a great way to introduce area youngsters to college athletics. Every person that attends is counted in the overall total and attendance is a major component to winning the award. We certainly hope that Sam Houston students, faculty and staff will want to come spent their lunchtime with us Friday and join in the fun."
The contest with Our Lady of the Lady Friday is the Bearkats' third game of the season. Sam Houston lost to TCU and Arkansas on it first road trip of the year last weekend.
The Kats' two returning All-Southland Conference players are leading the offense this year. Shernise Robertson, who led the league in scoring last year, is averaging 17.0 points per game. Angela Beadle, who was an All-Southland selection two years ago, also scored in double figures with 11.5 points per contest.
"We're looking to improve every time we step on the court," Welch-Nichols said. "We need to do the little things right, like playing without the ball, still working even when you're not getting the ball."
Our Lady of the Lake brings a 1-2 record into Friday's action. The Saints lost two close games in a season-opening tournament, falling to Xavier 91-86 in overtime and Oklahoma City 87-85. In their last outing, they defeated Tarleton State 70-57.
A member of the Red River Conference, top scorers for Our Lady of the Lake are 5-3 guard Taylor Hamilton and 6-0 center Sonji Green who own averages of 20.0 and 16.3 points, respectively.
