AUBURN, Ala. – Chyna Allen put in 15 points in her Sam Houston debut, but the Auburn Tigers used a late push in the second quarter and a big third period to push the Bearkats away in a 90-76 win on Tuesday night in the season opener at Auburn Arena.
Sam Houston (0-1) stayed with the Tigers (1-0) until the midway part of the second quarter and trailed just 34-33 with 5:15 left in the half on a bucket from Allen. However, the Kats were held without a field goal for the remainder of the half and were outscored 13-3 as Auburn took a 47-36 lead into the locker room.
Auburn then outscored the Kats 16-4 in the first five minutes of the third quarter to push the lead to a comfortable margin they would ride the remainder of the way.
Madelyn Batista and Adriana Djokovic each reached double figures with 10 points apiece with Batista adding eight rebounds. In all, 12 Bearkats cracked the scoring column and the Kats took 43 free throws in total, hitting 29 as a team.
Batista also added three steals to her ledger and those steals helped contribute to 23 turnovers forced by the Kats; however, Sam Houston turned the ball over 33 times itself, accounting for 31 AU points.
Sam Houston will now return to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum for its 2022-23 home opener on Saturday vs Texas State. Tipoff against the Bobcats is set for 6:30 p.m. with the game set to air on ESPN+.
