Nacogdoches – Junior guard Shernise Roberson scored 25 points to lead Sam Houston in a hard-fought 79-65 loss to 2015 Southland Conference regular season champion Stephen F. Austin Saturday at William Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats held leads early in each half and kept the game close until the final five minutes. Saundra Guillory scored 14 points while Amanda Barnes added 10 points for the SHSU women.
The loss ends the season for Sam Houston as the women finish with a 6-22 record. Victories by Houston Baptist and New Orleans in other games Saturday meant the Kats did not qualify for post-season play next week in Katy. The SHSU women ended 5-13 in league action.
Stephen F. Austin will be the No. 1 seed in Katy with a 23-6 overall record and a 16-2 Southland mark. Saturday's win was the 11th straight for the Lumberjack women since a loss to Sam Houston in Huntsville in January.
Sam Houston held an early 6-5 lead three minutes into the contest after Robertson's first two three pointers. SFA kept trying to pull away, leading by as many as seven points, 20-13, with 10:07 to go before intermission.
But Amanda Barnes hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws within 20 seconds to cut the margin to 33-31 with 2:16 to play. With the shot clock running out, Robertson bagged her fourth trey with 17 second remaining to send both teams into the locker room with the score knotted 36-36.
The Bearkats were hot from the field in the opening period, going 11-of-21 from the field (52.4 percent). The SHSU women also out-rebounded the Jacks in the first 20 minutes 17-11.
A jumper by Taylor Dorsey gave the Kats a quick 38-36 lead 26 seconds into the second period. Two free throws by Saundra Guillory put SHSU up by three, 40-37, with 18:04 to go.
The Jacks finally found the range, going on an 18-7 run to go ahead 57-47 with 7:29 to play. But the Bearkats weren't done yet. Sam Houston went on an 11-4 run of their own. A Jasmine Robinson lay-up and a Roberson jumper cut the Jack lead to 62-58 with 4:32 to play.
Sam Houston could come no closer as the 2015 season came to a close.
