The Sam Houston State Bearkats took care of business Thursday night against the Northwestern State Demons, defeating the Southland Conference foe at Johnson Coliseum by a final score of 92-73 to move their overall record to 3-22 on the season.
The Bearkats scored a season high 92 points in Thursday’s victory and shot an impressive 62 percent from the field, and it all started with a hot first half.
SHSU got off to a fast start, outscoring NWSU 43-37 at the half. The Kats dominated the total time of possession with a total of 37 minutes and capitalized off the Demons’ mistakes to bucket an impressive 23 points off turnovers.
“It’s amazing, it’s a total team effort,” head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said. “They fought hard as a team, they backed each other up, they picked each other when one went down. They were there for each other. I’m just really proud of the effort and energy they brought tonight.”
Senior center Jasmin McCants, senior guard Morghen Day and freshman guard Jenniffer Oramas combined to score 61 points, with McCants and Oramas sharing the team high in points with 18 each. Day added 13 points and sophomore center Ashleigh Cooper added 12 points.
“It means a lot to play like this,” Day said. “Not only did the three of us step up, the whole team stepped up. For us to do what we did tonight is really good.”
The last time the Bearkats faced off against the Demons was on Jan. 14. SHSU lost that game 78-51, but Thursday’s meeting between the two teams had a complete opposite outcome.
“I feel like they are honestly not better than us,” McCants said. “I felt like it was our time to get them back and show them that that was not the team that came out today. We got out there and showed them who we really are.”
Oramas also felt that the Demons did not play the “real” Bearkats in the first meeting back in January. She said the team used the 27-point loss as motivation going into Thursday’s game.
“We just wanted to get them back so bad,” Oramas said. “We just knew that they were not better than us. So we just went out there and played hard.”
It is no secret that the Bearkats have a young team, with a majority being freshman and sophomores. Oramas felt that tonight’s performance showed everyone what this team can be in the coming seasons.
“What happen tonight just shows how much potential we have,” Oramas said. “We are so young and when we get the experience as a team, grow together and work together, we will be unstoppable.”
With the win, the team moves onto 3-22 overall and 3-12 in the Southland Conference. The Bearkats will hit the court again on Feb 25. to take on the Abilene Christian Wildcats at Johnson Coliseum.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.