Led by Shernise Robertson and Angela Beadle, Sam Houston stayed with Big 12 Conference powerhouse Kansas State for three quarters in a 78-50 loss to the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas Saturday night.

Kansas State was paced by 6-5 center Breanna Lewis who scored 24 points as the Wildcats upped their record to 9-1. Sam Houston dropped to 4-5 for the season.

Robertson scored 21 points and Beadle added 10 for the Bearkat women who trailed the taller Wildcats by only three points with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Kansas State's size and speed were too much down the stretch as the Wildcats closed the game with a 40-15 run in the final 13 minutes.

Morghen Day totaled 10 points off the bench for Sam Houston. Kansas State hit 29-of-63 from the field (32 per cent) while limiting the Bearkats to 17 field goals in 58 attempts (21 per cent). Sam Houston held its own on the boards as K State ended with only a 42-38 advantage in rebounds.

Kansas State never trailed, but the game was tied twice in the first period at 5-5 after a pair of free throws by Beadle and 8-8 after a three-pointer by Robertson six minutes into the game.

The Wildcats finished the opening quarter with an 8-2 run to hold a 16-10 after 10 minutes. K State led by as many as 10 points, 22-12 early in the second period and went to the locker room with a 31-22 lead at intermission.

Kansas State jumped out to its largest lead, 36-22, two minutes into the third period. The Sam women bounced back with a 13-2 run to cut the margin to three points, 38-35, after a Robertson three-pointer with 3:55 remaining in the quarter. The Wildcats closed the period with an 8-2 run to hold a 46-37 lead.

The Wildcats got hot in the final period, hitting four shots in a row in the first three minutes and out-scoring the Bearkats 32-13 in the fourth quarter.

Sam Houston will take on another Big 12 power after the Christmas break when they travel to play the Texas Longhorns in Austin in a 2 p.m. game Sunday December 27.