Angela Beadle scored 21 points and tied her season high with 18 rebounds in her final game at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Saturday as the Sam Houston women fell to Stephen F. Austin 65-59 Saturday afternoon.
The Bearkats finish the regular season 11-17 and 7-11 in Southland Conference play and will return to the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy next Thursday for the first time in three years.
Paulletta Powell led SFA with 17 points as the Jacks upped their season mark to 18-11 for the year and 12-6 in league play.
The Sam Houston women will be the No. 7 seed and face Nicholls in the first round at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Central Arkansas (26-3, 16-2 Southland) heads into next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas as the No. 1 seed while riding a seven-game winning streak.
No. 5 seed Houston Baptist and No. seed 8 Lamar open the women's basketball tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. The winner of Game One will take on No. 4 McNeese State Friday at 11 a.m. The Cowgirls finished the regular season 7-11 in conference action. Lamar and McNeese both went one-and-done in last year's tournament. The winner will advance to take on No. 1 seed Central Arkansas Saturday at 1 p.m. for the semifinals
On the other side of the bracket, Northwestern State locked up the No. 2 seed after finishing 13-5 in league play and 19-10 overall in the regular season. The Lady Demons return to Katy as the 2014 and 2015 Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament title winner. Northwestern State, like UCA, has a double bye into the semifinals and will play its first game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN 3.
The first game on the Demons' side of the bracket pits No. 6 seed Nicholls and No. 7 seed Sam Houston State against one another Thursday at 1 p.m.
The two teams met once during the regular season when the Colonels defeated the Bearkats in a close 67-63 battle. Nicholls enters the tournament 8-10 in conference play while Sam Houston State posted a 7-11 league mark.
The winner of that game advances to take on No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin Friday at 1:30 p.m. The Jacks posted a 12-6 league record after starting conference action 1-5. That game will decide who advance to the semifinals to take on No. 2 seed Northwestern State Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
For the first time, all rounds of the women's tournament will be televised. The first and second rounds along with the semifinals will be available solely on ESPN3, while the championship game will be covered exclusively on CBS Sports Network.
The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The selection show is Monday, March 14 at 6 p.m., CT, on ESPN.
Tickets to the 2016 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament are available through Ticketmaster and at the Merrell Center box office Tuesday at 10 a.m. This is the ninth consecutive year for the event to be played in Katy.
Thursday, March 10
Game 1: No. 8 Lamar vs. No. 5 Houston Baptist, 11 a.m. (ESPN3)
Game 2: No. 7 Sam Houston State vs. No. 6 Nicholls, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, March 11
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 4 McNeese State, 11 a.m. (ESPN3)
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 Stephen F. Austin, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 12
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 1 Central Arkansas, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 2 Northwestern State, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sunday, March 13
Championship Game, 11:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
