HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston could not capitalize on a big third quarter as it fell just short to FIU, 71-65, Saturday at Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats (6-14, 1-7 CUSA) erased a 13-point third-quarter deficit to even the game at 48 apiece heading into the final stanza, forcing a seven-minute stretch where the Golden Panthers (16-6, 7-1 CUSA) did not score a point.
However, unlike Thursday's epic comeback against WKU, the Kats were not able to make it to the finish line.
Kassidy Dixon led the Kats in scoring with 17 points.
Shanti Henry added 13 and
Sydnee Kemp scored 12.
Raanee Smith led the Kats in rebounding with seven.
From tip-off, Sam Houston attacked the paint of FIU, going to the charity stripe 14 times, making 11 free throws to negate a tough half from distance that saw the Kats misfire seven times from 3-point range. Dixon pumped in nine of her points in the half and
Diarrah Sissoko had eight.
No team was able to convert from beyond the arc in the half, with the first triple coming from FIU with 4:14 left in the second quarter. That 3-pointer snapped a 25-25 deadlock and spurred the Panthers to a 16-4 run to close out the half and build a 12-point lead at halftime.
Sam Houston would start off the third quarter slow, going down 48-35 midway through the third. From that point on it was all Bearkats, as it would go on a 13-0 run to even the game up. Henry provided the bulk of the run with the Kats' only two 3-pointers of the game, coming on back-to-back possessions to knot it back up at 48-48 with 10 minutes to play.
The teams would trade big shots against each other in the fourth quarter, but FIU would eventually begin to pull away from Sam Houston. The Panthers shot 64.3 percent from the floor in the fourth, compared to the Kats' 23.5 percent.
Sam Houston was still right there late in the game, trailing 65-63 with 2:32 to go after a jumper from
Kaylee Jefferson; however, that was the last made field goal of the game for SHSU, while FIU responded with a key four straight points to keep the Kat at bay.
Sam Houston will be back home Thursday against Jax State at Johnson Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 6:30 pm on ESPN+.
