Sam Women Host Rice Thursday at 6:30
12/16/2015 9:32:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Winners in four of their last five games, the Sam Houston women's basketball team renews its rivalry with the Rice Owls Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
The contest marks the final home non-conference game for the Bearkat women. The team will not play again in Huntsville until its third Southland Conference contest of the 2016 season against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, January 7.
Sam Houston and Rice's women's programs have battled 22 times in a series that dates back to 1980. The Bearkats have won the last two meetings, defeating Rice in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) 73-55 in March, 2012, and 79-74 in overtime in Houston in November, 2014.
The Owls are looking for their first victory, having gone 0-7 against a challenging schedule that has pitted them against such women's powers as Kentucky, Texas, Baylor and Houston.
“They're a talented ball club that has played a really rugged schedule,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “We're going to have play with a lot of intensity and keep the mistakes to a minimum to compete. This is going to be an excellent test for us to see where we are right now.”
Shani Rainey, a 5-10 sophomore guard, leads the Owls with 12.0 points and 6/3 rebounds per game. Rice has lost two close games to Southland Conference opponents, falling 60-55 to A&M-Corpus Christi and 61-53 to McNeese. Both contests were road games.
Sam Houston won a thriller on the road Monday night, rallying from 12 points down to edge Texas Southern 53-51 in Houston. Senior guard Shernise Robertson scored the game-winning basket with four seconds remaining.
“That win is a real confidence builder for us,” Welch-Nichols said. “With the game up at LIU-Brooklyn before finals and Monday night at Texas Southern, we've won two road games in a row. That's big. The players are excited to be back in Johnson Coliseum for the first time since November.”
A first team All-Southland selection last year after leading the league in scoring, Robertson is averaged 16.4 points per game and leads the team with 26 assists. Her top performances this season have included 22 points in the victory over LSU-Alexandria and 21 points against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Senior center Angela Beadle also is scoring in double figures with a 12.0 average and leads the team with nine rebounds per contest. Beadle pulled down 13 rebounds in the Texas Southern victory Monday night.
Several newcomers have stepped up for the Kats. Freshman guard Laurynn McGowen is averaging 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds and has added 14 assists. She scored 17 points in the win over LSU-Alexandria. Another freshman, 5-8 guard Kamry Orr, is averaging 6.0 points per game.
Following Thursday's meeting with the Owls, the Sam Houston women begin a three-week road swing that will pit the Bearkats against two outstanding non-conference foes and see the team begin Southland action away from home.
Sam Houston takes on Kansas State in Manhatten Saturday at 7 p.m. After the Christmas break, the Kats will take on the Texas Longhorns on Sunday, December 27 at 4 p.m. in Austin.
Southland Conference play begins Saturday January 2 at Incarnate Word.
