HUNTSVILLE, Texas – HBU had strong performances from senior guard
Tayler Jefferson and junior forward
Anna Strickland, but Sam Houston State scored 49 second-half points and went 33-for-49 at the free throw line in a 74-67 come-from-behind win over HBU Saturday afternoon from Johnson Coliseum.
Jefferson scored a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to lead HBU (8-12 overall, 2-7 SLC). Strickland set a new career high with 20 points on 8-of-9 from the floor. She nearly recorded her fourth double-double as she pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Heidi Sihvola had six points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal. HBU shot 40 percent from the floor.
The Southland's leading scorer, Shernise Robertson, led Sam Houston State (6-14 overall, 5-5 SLC) with 28 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 16-of-17 from the line. Taylor Dorsey chipped in with 22 points. The Bearkats shot 43 percent in the game.
HBU held Sam Houston State to 22 percent shooting (4-of-18), but the Bearkats went 16-of-20 from the free throw line, as HBU led SHSU at the break, 36-25.
HBU jumped out to a 6-1 lead before SHSU got its first basket of the game, a three-pointer by Robertson at the 14:59-mark of the first half. HBU went on a 17-6 run for its largest lead of the half, 23-10, with 6:34 remaining in the first half. Jefferson hit two 3-pointers in the run while
Ekemini Essien swished one.
The Huskies continued to lead by 13, 26-13, with just under five minutes to go, but SHSU seemed to get its shot together, as the Bearkats hit five shots to trail the Huskies by 11, 36-25, at the break.
Jefferson led all players with 16 first-half points, while Strickland chipped in with 11. Strickland,
Meghan Shank, and Essien all had a half-high four rebounds. HBU shot 48 percent from the floor. SHSU was led by Robertson with 10 points, as she went 1-for-5 from the floor, but a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
HBU started the second half outscoring the Bearkats 6-3, with SHSU's only points coming from the charity stripe, as the Huskies took their largest lead of the game on a
Heidi Sihvola long two-pointer, 44-28, with 15:57 remaining in regulation.
SHSU used a 10-0 run in a span of 2:25 to cut the Huskies' lead to 44-38 and force them to call a timeout.
A four-point play – a three-pointer by Robertson and a made free throw by Robinson – tied the game at 50-all with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the game. But a made free throw followed by a charge by Neal and a Jefferson layup put the Huskies back up three, 53-50, with eight minutes remaining.
A Morghen Day steal followed by a Dorsey fast-break layup gave the Bearkats their first lead of the game, 55-53, with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
A Strickland layup that tied her career high of 17 points cut the deficit to two, 64-62, but Robertson came right down the floor and drilled a three-pointer at the top of the key to give the Bearkats a five-point advantage with two minutes remaining.
HBU hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 pm in Sharp Gym.
