McMurry
10/31/2026 11:54:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 1 • vs McMurry
Huntsville • Johnson Coliseum (6,300)
McMurry (0-0) at Sam Houston (0-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Monday, November 2 • 6:30 PM CT
TV: ESPN+ (Brady Beeson)
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_WBB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • McMurry
Series vs the War Hawks: Sam Houston leads 1-0
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston tips off the 2026-27 season on Monday night when it hosts McMurry at Johnson Coliseum.
Tipoff for Monday's game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will stream on ESPN+. Brady Beeson will have the call from Johnson Coliseum.
KATS OPEN 2026-27 SEASON AGAINST McMURRY
- Sam Houston is coming off its first postseason berth since 2013, an appearance in the 2026 WNIT. The Bearkats finished 18-13 overall and tied for third in CUSA at 11-7 before falling 62-59 at Portland in the WNIT opening round
- The Kats enter the season with 11 newcomers on their 14-player roster, including 10 transfers. Only Deborah Ogayemi, Fanta Kone and Esther Rodellar return from the 2025-26 roster, and Sam Houston is one of three CUSA programs with 10 or more newcomers this season
- Sam Houston has ranked among the nation's top 25 in turnovers forced per game in five of Ravon Justice's eight seasons, including four top-6 finishes. The Bearkats ranked fifth nationally in 2025-26 at 25.03 turnovers forced per game, their highest average under Justice
- The Kats led CUSA in turnovers forced per game in each of the past two seasons and led the league with a +7.32 turnover margin in 2025-26. Sam Houston forced 30 or more turnovers eight times last season, including 30 against Portland in the opening round of the WNIT
- Ravon Justice enters the season third in program history with 116 victories at Sam Houston. She needs three wins to tie Brenda Nichols (119) for second place and is 17 victories away from matching Rebecca Bilsing's school record of 133
SAM HOUSTON vs THE WAR HAWKS
- Monday marks just the second all-time meeting between Sam Houston and McMurry, with the Kats leading the series 1-0. It is the first time the programs have met in a season opener
- The War Hawks are led by second-year head coach Laura Lange, who guided McMurry to an 18-9 record in her first season
- Fanta Kone just missed a triple-double in the teams' only previous meeting, finishing with seven points, a career-high 14 rebounds and 10 assists
THE LAST TIME
- Sam Houston claimed a 75-53 victory in the teams' last meeting on Dec. 5, 2024, in Huntsville. The Kats jumped ahead 22-9 in the opening quarter and never trailed
- Kaila Kelley poured in a career-high 19 points to lead the Kats, while Aysia Ward-Strong added 14 points and seven rebounds
PREGAME NOTES
- Sam Houston is one of just three Division I programs returning a pair of NCAA statistical qualifiers who each averaged at least 2.5 steals per game in 2025-26, joining UConn and Vanderbilt. Fanta Kone averaged 3.6 steals per game, while Deborah Ogayemi averaged 2.6
- Deborah Ogayemi returns after earning preseason all-CUSA honors for the second consecutive year. A two-time second-team all-CUSA selection, Ogayemi started all 27 games she played last season, averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor. In CUSA play, she averaged 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds and led the league with 4.1 offensive rebounds per conference game
- Fanta Kone is the reigning CUSA Defensive Player of the Year and earned first-team All-CUSA honors in 2025-26. She led the Bearkats with 13.0 points per game, 152 assists and 108 steals while averaging 35.3 minutes per contest
- Kone enters her third season at Sam Houston with 199 career steals and 285 career assists, putting her one steal from 200 and 15 assists from 300. A CUSA All-Defensive Team selection in each of her first two seasons, she set Sam Houston and CUSA single-game records with 12 steals at Arkansas-Pine Bluff last season
- Sam Houston held four opponents under 40 points in 2025-26, matching more than half of the program's previous all-time total in a single season. The Kats limited Southwestern Christian (39), ULM (34), Dallas (38) and WKU (38) to fewer than 40 points
- The Bearkats have totaled 38 wins since joining CUSA for the 2023-24 season, holding opponents under 70 points in 37 of those victories. Sam Houston has held opponents below 70 points in 32 consecutive wins
