HUNTSVILLE — The Sam Houston Bearkats got out to a fast start and put things to bed early in a 77-49 win over Prairie View on Monday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. 

Sam Houston (3-1) scored 31 points in the first quarter, rained in six 3-point buckets and dominated the paint to the tune of a 44-20 advantage to claim its second straight win of the season and snap a modest 2-game skid against the Panthers that dated back to 2014. 

Annika Corcoran, playing in just her second game as a Bearkat, nailed a trio of 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points while teammate Whitney Dunn was right behind her with 14 points of her own. Fanta Kone, who was named the CUSA Player of the Week earlier in the day, filled up the stat sheet once again, equaling Corcoran with 16 points along with four assists and three steals.  
 
Aysia Ward-Strong picked up her first career double-double, finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.  

The Kats came out firing, hitting each of their first four tries from beyond the arc to race out to a 30-8 advantage less than eight minutes into the first quarter. Corcoran was huge in that stretch, hitting a pair of triples and scoring 11 of her 16 first-half points in a 4-minute stretch of the opening period.  

Sam Houston built upon that lead and took a 49-26 lead into the break, marking its most first-half points against a Division I opponent since scoring 49 in a win over Seattle U in the 2022-23 season. The Kats then broke it open early in the third with a 14-0 run in the third quarter, holding the Panthers without a field goal for nearly eight minutes after PV scored on its opening possession.  

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The Kats will stay at home this week for the second of three straight home contests, hosting ULM on Thursday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 pm with the game airing on ESPN+.