Angela Beadle scored 20 points and pulled down a season best 18 rebounds to lead Sam Houston to a 78-76 Southland Conference women's basketball victory over Lamar in Beaumont Wednesday night.
Beadle's scoring total included two free throws in the final seconds that proved to be the winning points as Lamar sank a three-pointer at the final buzzer. The two charity shots came as a result of a foul after the 6-3 senior grabbed the ball following a Cardinal three-point miss.
Guards Shernise Robertson, Kamry Orr and Morghen Day also scored in double figures for Sam Houston (8-11, SLC 4-5). Robertson, who went 4-of-7 from three point range, added 17 points while Orr posted 14. Day pumped in 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to help spark a second half run.
Lamar (8-12, SLC 4-5) was led by Baileigh O'Dell with 20 points.
The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the young Bearkat women's team that started conference play by winning three of their first four games.
“This team keeps on fighting,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “Our intensity was great. We found the joy in playing again. This was a big win on the road for us. We had great play out of Beadle, Shernise and Kam. Morghen Day came off the bench and hit some key shots when we needed them."
The 20-point performance moves Beadle into ninth place in Sam Houston women's career scoring with 1,144 points. Tonight she passed Andee Sheiron (1,129 points in 1996-99) and Alicia Ferguson (1,140 points in 1997-2000) to move into the Bearkat top 10. Her 18 rebounds jump her career total to 870 boards, third in SHSU women's annals.
The contest was a nip-and-tuck affair with neither team gaining a large advantage. Sam Houston led 25-22 at the end of the first quarter and by one, 46-45, in intermission after being out-scored 23-21 in the second period. Lamar led by one point, 64-63 following the third quarter.
Early in the final period, the Bearkats surged ahead to stay opening with a 9-0 run to go up 72-64 with 5:07 to play after a three-pointer by Morghen Day. Lamar moved back within three points, 76-73 with 59 seconds remaining. Beadle's two free throws in the final seconds iced the victory.
Sam Houston continues their Southland road swing Saturday night with a 4 p.m. match-up with Houston Baptist in a men's and women's doubleheader at HBU.
