It took six games, but Sam Houston State women’s basketball team was finally able to find its first win of the season Wednesday against Texas Southern 61-54 at Johnson Coliseum.
Although the Bearkats’ offense struggled early on with breaking their opposition’s perimeter defense, the Kats were still able to improve their record to 1-5.
The Bearkats committed a total of 15 turnovers in the first half, resulting in Texas Southern scoring four points off turnovers. Bad passes were the main reason for all the turnovers.
“We missed a lot of layups,” head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “We were not excited about the turnovers.”
Late in the first half, the Bearkats turned their play around and found themselves leading when the scoreboard buzzed 29-16. Although clinging to a lead, the Bearkats made the second half a different story on the offensive end. The Kats went 55 percent from the field and three for six from behind the arc.
The Bearkats forced Texas Southern to commit 17 total turnovers with intense defense. SHSU capitalized on the turnover with 16 points off the turnovers.
“We wanted to keep the tempo up,” Nichols said. “We changed the defense up a lot from zone to man.”
Junior center Shadijah Moore led the Kats with a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Morghen Day went three for five from the three-point line and finished the game with 15 points.
“We came together as a team and executed really well,” Day said. “I knew with players being out, we had to step up.”
The Bearkats had a total of 17 assists in the win with junior guard Amanda Barnes accounting for eight of them.
“When we go out as and play as a team, we get it,” Nichols said.
The Lady Bearkats will head to Lafayette, La. on Saturday to face Louisiana-Lafayette at 2 p.m.