THIBODAUX, La. – Amber Leggett poured in a season-high 27 points and the Sam Houston State women's basketball team held off the Nicholls Colonels to pull out an 80-77 win on Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.
 
In a close game that featured six ties and nine lead changes – eight in the third quarter - the Kats (15-7, 10-3 SLC) held a 10-point lead with just five minutes to play before the Colonels (6-16, 3-10 SLC) made a push late that had the Bearkat advantage down to just a point in the final minute of play.
 
Along with Leggett's 27 points, she just missed a double-double with nine boards. The sophomore hit half of her 16 shots from the floor, but did much of her damage from the foul line where she went 10-for-14. In all, the Bearkats were 24-for-34 from the charity stripe, helping alleviate a night that saw them go just 4-for-20 from 3-point range.
 
Courtney Cleveland also finished with a dozen points, while Jaylonn Walker had 11. La'Sha Haynes pulled off a double-double, putting in 10 points along with pulling in 11 rebounds.
 
For Nicholls, Ari Hamilton played all 40 minutes and finished with 20 points while Loan-Anh Johnson had 18 and Chrystal Ezechukwu had 16.
 
The Kats return to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum on Wednesday to take on Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN+.