Senior center Angela Beadle scored 28 points including the go-ahead basket with 2:29 to play and a free throw with six seconds remaining as Sam Houston defeated Lamar 78-75 in a Southland Conference women's basketball game Wednesday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville.

The victory upped Sam Houston's season record to 11-16 and the Kats' Southland Conference mark to 7-10. The Sam women nailed down one of the eight Southland Conference post-season tournament berths in at the Merrell Center in Katy next week.

Beadle's 28 points moved her up to sixth place in Sam Houston career scoring. Her career scoring total now stands at 1,282 points. She passed Sirena Autman who scored 1,270 from 1988 to 1991.

Laurynn McGowen added 17 points and Shernise Robertson totaled 15 for Sam Houston. Beadle also pulled down 15 rebounds. Robertson handed out eight assists and Kamry Orr added seven.

“We never quit fighting,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols. “We got some big points and rebounds out of Amanda. Laurynn hasn't been scoring that much of late but she came up big for us tonight. This definitely was a team victory.”

Lamar, now 11-18 for the year and 7-11 in Southland Conference action, led for 30 minutes in the contest. The Cardinals were up by two points, 70-68 with 3:12 to play. Beadle's jumper at 2:29 mark put Sam Houston ahead 71-70. McGowen hit three free throws in the final two minutes. Kamry Orr hit a three-pointer with 1:05 to go that put the Kats up by five, 76-71.

Baileigh O'Dell led 14 points for Lamar. Chastadie Barrs scored 13 and Kiara Desamours, Laka Blanche, DeJa Roberts and Khali Pippins-Tryon all scored 10 points.

The opening half was a see-saw with the two teams trading leads 12 times. Sam Houston's largest lead was four points after a three-pointer by McGowen put the Kats up 6-2 a minute-and-a-half into the contest.

Lamar fought back to go up 20-15 at the end of the first period and lead by as many as nine points, 38-29, after a second consecutive three-pointer by Khali Pippins-Tryon with 3:17 left before half. The Cardinals took a six-point 41-35 lead into the locker room at intermission.

The two teams traded leads three more times in the second half before Beadle's basket put the Kats ahead to stay.

Lamar's regular season ended with the loss, the Cardinals' second to the Kats this season. Sam Houston will finish the regular season with a 4:35 p.m. contest with Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at Johnson Coliseum