ABILENE — Sam Houston held off a furious rally to hand Abilene Christian a 69-66 loss at Moody Coliseum on Thursday.
The Bearkats (6-6) got the job done at the free throw line in the closing seconds to improve to 2-0 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Sam Houston led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter, but the Wildcats used a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter to pull within 59-53. ACU got as close as 67-66 in the final seconds, however,
Kaylee Jefferson and
Chyna Allen both knocked down a free throw to seal the victory.
Sydnee Kemp led the Kats with 21 points and Allen had 18.
Madelyn Batista chipped in 11 points and nine boards, and Jefferson added 10 points.
The Bearkats came out on fire to start the game. They shot 75 percent from the field, making 9 of 12 shot attempts and closed the first quarter on a 14-0 run to go up 22-6 thanks to baskets by Allen, Woods, Jefferson and Batista.
Sam Houston kept it rolling in the second quarter. Allen made back-to-back layups and Kemp scored to give the Kats their biggest lead of the half at 34-11.
ACU was able to cut the lead to 10 by outscoring Sam Houston 27-15 until Kemp hit a jumper at the end of the third quarter to push the lead to 59-47.
The Bearkats return home to host Utah Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m.
