KATY – Amber Leggett backed up her selection as Southland Conference Player of the Year with a huge afternoon as the No. 3 Sam Houston Bearkats blew past No. 4 Nicholls, 89-59, in the quarterfinals of the Southland Tournament on Friday at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
 
Leggett poured in a career-high 36 points to go with nine rebounds, two steals and a block in the Bearkat (14-7) win, the team's first win in the SLC Tournament since advancing to the title game in 2016.  
The win will give the Bearkats another chance against Southeastern Louisiana, the tournament's No. 2 seed, in Saturday's tournament semifinals. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Merrell Center and will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Leggett was efficient in her 34 minutes of court time, hitting 14 of her 20 shots from the floor and eight of her 10 foul shots, and had 19 points in the second half.
 
She wasn't the only Bearkat with a big day as Faith Cook finished with 14 points, but also a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double on a day that saw the Kats hit 47.2 percent of their shots while also forcing 25 Colonel (11-14) turnovers.  
Madelyn Batista also turned in a great game with 14 points and eight boards, while Courtney Cleveland had eight points and three steals.
 
The first half featured 10 lead changes and 7 ties with neither team pushing the lead any greater than the Kats' 25-19 advantage early in the second quarter.  
Leggett carried the Kats on her back in the first 20 minutes, pumping in 17 of her points with three rebounds in helping Sam Houston to a 38-37 lead at the midway point. Cook was cold from the floor in the early going, but hit a pair of big shots late in the half and had four assists to help the Bearkat cause.
 
The second half was all Bearkats, outscoring Nicholls 29-14 in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 16 points and then outscored Nicholls 22-8 in the fourth quarter, including the game's final 15 points.