HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats shook off a slow start to blast UTRGV for the second time this season, 69-49, on Saturday afternoon at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
The Kats (13-13, 8-7 WAC) trailed 16-6 nearly seven minutes into the game before roaring back to hold a 3-point lead at the half on their way to a season sweep of the Vaqueros (10-17, 6-9 WAC), rebounding from Thursday's loss at Abilene Christian that snapped a 7-game win streak.
Damaya Telemaque was the go-to threat, scoring a season-high 23 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. She was efficient with 7-for-15 shooting from the floor and 8-for-11 from the foul line on a day that saw the Kats shoot 41.5 percent from the field as a team.
Madelyn Batista also added 13 points and 6 rebounds and
Kaylee Jefferson had 10 points. Defensively, the Kats were menaces all day long, forcing 29 UTRGV turnovers, the most by a Division I Bearkat opponent since Hartford handed it over 37 times in November.
The win keeps Sam Houston in the thick of the race for a top-4 seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament, just 0.5 games back of Abilene Christian and Utah Valley with three games left on the slate.
The Kats will next play host to a pair of the top teams in the WAC to finish out the hoem portion of the schedule, first getting a crack at league-leader Stephen F. Austin on Thursday before taking on Grand Canyon on Saturday.
