Shernise Robertson scored 30 points and Angela Beadle added 24 to lead Sam Houston as the Bearkat women fell three points short in an 82-79 Southland Conference loss to McNeese Saturday at Burton Coliseum.
Both totals were season highs for the two players.
Trailing by six points with 4:32 to play, the Bearkats rallied to cut the Cowgirl lead to one point five times, the last at 80-81 with three seconds to play. Roberson got off a three-pointer at the buzzer but missed as the Cowgirls escaped with a victory to up their season record to 11-6 and 3-2 in Southland play.
Sam Houston dropped to 7-9 for the year and 3-3 in the league. The Bearkats trailed by as many as seven points in the third quarter but made strong comeback to have a chance to win the game.
“The girls played their rear ends off today,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols. “This was a total team effort today.”
Allison Baggett and Jayln Barnes led McNeese with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Sam Houston out-rebounded the Cowgirls 33-28 as Lydia Baxter led the Kats with seven boards and Beadle pulled down five.
Three-point baskets at critical times helped McNeese's cause as Baggett was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and Johnson added two treys. Robertson was 4-of-8 from three.
The Bearkats hit 51.7 percent from the field (31-of-60) while McNeese shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63). Sam Houston out-scored the Cowgirls 44-38 in the paint, picking up 20 points off of 11 McNeese miscues.
“Angela Beadle was a warrior under the basket today,” Welch-Nichols said. “She battled hard. Lydia Baxter came in and did a good job of taking some of the heat off Angela. Getting the ball inside to the post is going to be a key for us this season.
“Shernise had an outstanding game and Kamry Orr did a good job coming off the bench and running things. We played hard today and the ball just didn't fall when we needed it. But I'm proud of the effort.”
Sam Houston jumped out to a pair of three point leads in the opening minutes at 5-2 on a Robertson three and 7-4 on a bucket by Beadle. After ties at 8-8 and 15-15, Jasmyn Carswell gave the Cowgirls a two-point lead with 14 seconds left, 17-15, to end the first period.
The Cowgirls posted a 9-4 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter to go up by seven, 26-19, on a jumper by Allison Baggett. Later, with the Kats trailing 28-23, Ohr knocked down three straight buckets to give Sam Houston a 29-28 lead with 2:05 remaining. A field goal and a three-point by Robertson in the final minute and a half sent the Kats into the locker room at intermission up 34-31.
McNeese opened the first three minutes of the second half with a 12-2 run to go up 43-36 on a jumped by Baggett. The Kats fought back to cut the lead to two points three times. A basket by Amber Donnes and a free throw by Jayln Johnson put the Cowgirls up 55-51 at the end of the third period.
Sam Houston takes on Abilene Christian at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
