Women hosts red-hot Bears at 2 p.m. Saturday
2/19/2016 8:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
After a grueling four-week period which saw the Sam Houston women play six of seven games on the road, the Bearkat women's basketball team is looking forward to finishing the regular season with four of their final five contests at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
In fact, when the Kats take on Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon on their home floor, the game will be their first action in a week. Last Saturday the Sam women avenged an earlier loss to Houston Baptist with a 78-70 victory at home.
“It's been good and bad, not playing for a week,” Sam Houston senior center Angela Beadle said. “You get some time to catch up on things like school work but you miss playing. We're eager to get back on the floor.”
Sam Houston will have their hands full Saturday. Central Arkansas comes into the game with a 21-3 overall record and an 11-2 league mark that ranks them second in the Southland Conference standings. Since first place Abilene Christian is still ineligible to play in the league's post-season tournament in their final season in the process of moving to Division I, the UCA Bears are attempting to nail down the number one seed at the event in Katy in March.
All-Southland Conference 5-7 guard Maggie Profitt leads the Bears with a 14.3 average. UCA is out-scoring its opponents 64.2 points per game to 50.
The Bearkats need to pick up some victories down the stretch to earn one of the eight spots in the tournament. The Sam women are on the bubble with a 5-8 league mark.
“This team has been fighting tooth and nail every game this season,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “They're determined to get back to the Southland Conference tournament.”
Beadle and her fellow senior guard Shernise Robertson lead the Bearkats in scoring. Robertson is the league's top scorer with an 18.6 average. Beadle adds 14.5 points and is the team's top rebounder with 9.8 boards per game.
Both are continuing their fight up the career standings for Sam Houston women's basketball. Beadle now ranks No. 8 in Sam Houston women's career scoring (1,202 points). She needs 23 points to pass Whitney Smith (1,224 in 2007-10). She also stands as the Kats' career leader in blocks (167). Beadle ranks No. 3 in Kat career rebounds (910).
Robertson has climbed to No. 16 in Sam Houston all-time scoring with 958 points.
Sam Houston and Central Arkansas are meeting for the 12th time. The Bears lead the series eight victories to three. UCA owns a four-game winning streak over the Kats including a 66-63 win in Conway and a 64-56 victory in Huntsville last year. Sam Houston's last win over the Bears came in Huntsville in 2013.
A week ago in a 78-70 win over Houston Baptist, Robertson and freshman guard Kamry Orr each scored 19 points and Orr added a season best 12 assists.
KHVL 104.9 FM will broadcast the game live in the Walker County area.
