HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston women's basketball team used a big second quarter to pull away from Midwestern State, cruising to a convincing 104-61 win in the 2020-21 season opener on Wednesday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 
Junior Amber Leggett delivered career highs with 34 points and 12 rebounds in the game, pacing four Kats (1-0) who finished the night in double figures. Madelyn Batista turned in her biggest game as a Bearkat with 19 points and eight boards, while Sydnee Kemp had 14 points and nine assists.
 
Faith Cook delivered 15 points, all coming in the second half.
 
In all the Kats shot 51 percent from the floor and forced 30 Mustang (0-1) turnovers. They trailed 17-16 after a quarter of play, but outraced MSU to the halftime buzzer by a 37-16 margin in the second quarter to pull away before outscoring them 51-28 in the second half.
 
Playing with just eight players due to contact tracing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kats got balanced work from its modified roster with three players – Kemp, Alyvia Essex and Shameka Tubbs – all playing in their first game at Sam Houston.
 
The game was the 10^th time in program history that Sam Houston has eclipsed the 100-point mark in a game, with half of those results coming since Ravon Justice took over the program prior to the 2018-19 season.
 
Leggett's output came on the strength of 12-for-20 shooting, including 8-for-11 at the foul line. In all the Kats finished 26-for-36 at the charity stripe in the game.
 
Sam Houston is scheduled to return to the court on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Central Baptist.