Women ready for another battle at SFA Saturday
1/22/2016 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Two long-time rivals both looking to get back into the thick of the 2016 Southland Conference women's basketball race meet Saturday at 4 p.m. in Nacogdoches when Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin meet in their 70th women's basketball battle.
After winning three of their first four league games, the Bearkat women will be out to stop a three-game skid which has dropped them to seventh place in the league standings. SFA brings a 1-5 record into the contest. The Jacks won their league opener over McNeese State but have lost their last five Southland encounters.
Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin split in their two meetings last season, the Bearkats winning 65-64 in Huntsville and SFA taking the regular season finale for both squads 79-65 in Nacogdoches.
“Playing SFA, it's always a big game,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “This is going to be another battle. It's going to take a total team effort on our part.”
Welch-Nichols was recognized before Thursday's home game with Abilene Christian with the presentation of a game ball in honor of her 100th victory as Sam Houston head coach. The win came against Our Lady of the Lake in the 2016 home opener.
Two seniors continue to lead the Bearkat women. Shernise Robertson is leading the Southland in scoring for the second year in a row with 17.9 points per game. In her last two games, Robertson has scored 30 points against McNeese State and 21 against Abilene Christian.
Angela Beadle ranked second in the league in rebounding (8.8 per game) and 14th in scoring. In Thursday's game versus the ACU Wildcats Beadle pulled down a season high 17 rebounds.
“Angela can be a big force on the inside,” Welch-Nichols said. “Our other inside players have been doing a good job of taking a little slack off Beadle. Shernise is going a good job getting us points on the outside but it's a key for us to keep going inside.”
Sam Houston also has seen increased production from its bench. Kamry Orr scored 12 points at McNeese and 14 Thursday versus ACU. Lydia Baxter pulled down seven rebounds coming off the bench in Lake Charles.
“Everybody, when they get that opportunity to play, they need to play with everything they've got,” Welch-Nichols said.
The Lumberjacks will look for scoring from Taylor Ross, the Southland's third-leading scorer with a 15.9 average. Stephen F. Austin ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 65.4 points per game.
Saturday's game in Nacogdoches starts a five-game road swing for the Bearkats. Before the women's next home game Feb. 13 against Houston Baptist, the Kats also will travel to Lamar, HBU, A&M-Corpus Christi and a rematch with Abilene Christian.
Saturday's women's game will be broadcast on KHVL 104.9 FM.
