Angela Beadle scored 16 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Sam Houston to a 64-52 women's basketball victory over New Orleans Saturday afternoon.
Shernise Robertson and Kamry Orr each added 15 points as the Bearkats led for more than 21 minutes after trailing UNO for much of the first half.
The Privateers started strong, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes and, after one tie at 13-13, leading 17-13 at the end of the first period. The Bearkats bounced back to outscore UNO 23-10 in the second period, building a nine point lead at intermission 36-27. Sam Houston earned its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Robertson to make the score 22-21 with 5:54 left before halftime.
There were two lead changes in the second half. Alexis Martin gave the Privateers their last lead with a jumper to put UNO up 52-50 with 4:43 minutes remaining. Shedijah Moore tied the contest 52-52 with a follow shot with 3:21. Orr's three-pointer with three minutes remaining put the Bearkats ahead to stay.
“We went into the huddle and kept telling them to keep fighting,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nicholls said. “I think they settled down and got going and we came out and were able to win it.”
Randi Brown led New Orleans with 19 points. The Privateers out-boarded the Bearkats 45-42 with UNO players Brown, Shania Woods and Bria Platenberg each pulling down seven rebounds. Ashleigh Cooper also amassed double figure rebounds for the Sam Houston with 11.
“I'm so excited because Shadijah Moore had a heck of a game defensively,” Sam Houston head coach Welch-Nichols said. “I didn't think we boarded well offensively but Ashleigh Cooper came out of nowhere off the bench and she pulled down 11 boards for us. I really thought our bench played a big part in this win.”
The Bearkats now stand 7-7 after winning three of their first four Southland Conference games. Saturday's marked the women's second victory at home in Huntsville
“If you go 9-0 at home, you're in the conference tournament,”Welch Nicholls said. “We have to hold our home game in order to be successful.”
