ACU hands Bearkats first conference loss

Wednesday, January 22

Huntsville

5:00 PM

13-5,8-1Southland

Abilene Christian

14-2,6-1Southland

Abilene Christian

Sam Houston St.

Photo by: Grace-Anne Matocha

ACU hands Bearkats first conference loss

1/22/2020 7:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE — The Sam Houston State women's basketball squad saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end in an 81-73 loss to Abilene Christian at Johnson Coliseum Wednesday evening.

In a matchup between two of the top teams in the Southland Conference, the Bearkats (13-5 overall, 8-1 in SLC) led by as many as eight points with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. The Wildcats (14-2, 6-1) went 16 for 20 from the free-throw line in the second half to spark the comeback.

Sophomore Amber Leggett came close to a triple double with a team-high 19 points, seven steals and six rebounds for SHSU. Junior Courtney Cleveland scored a career-high 17 points, and senior Jenniffer Oramas added 16 points.

Abilene Christian jumped out to a 10-point lead two and a half minutes into the game, but the Bearkats settled in defensively to rally back to take the lead.

SHSU forced 18 turnovers and scored 21 points off the mishaps to go into the break up 43-37. Ten of those turnovers were steals, and the Bearkats scored 18 fast-break points in the first half.