HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Junior guard Amanda Johnson and sophomore guard Sophie Taylor led HBU to a 69-61 win over Sam Houston State in Southland conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

"We talked before the game about finding a way to win," head coach Donna Finnie said. "I felt like we didn't keep pushing when we were up by 12 points in the third and allowed them to outrebound us in that spell. I was pleased with how Amanda responded to that. Her shot wasn't falling today, so she found another way. She and Sophie were solid in the fourth and we now need to build on that."
Johnson shot 33.3 percent from the field and led all scorers with 19 points for the Huskies (5-10, 1-4 SLC). Taylor shot 50.0 percent from the floor, scoring 14 points with six rebounds and six assists. Sophomore forward Lauren Calver contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while junior center Veronika Kirienko added seven points and led HBU with nine boards. Sophomore guards Britta Daub and Sydney Carr each scored seven points.

Kevyn Ferriera led the Bearkats (3-11, 0-5), shooting 71.4 percent from the field and shot 2-of-3 from the 3-point line with 15 points, while Ashleigh Cooper shot 50.0 percent from the field with 10 points.  Both Cooper and Ferriera brought down six rebounds each. Kiera McKinney and Jada Ballew each put up six points.

HBU shot 42.9 percent from the floor, 2-of-6 from behind the arc and 19-of-30 from behind the line. Sam Houston State shot 37.7 percent from the field, 5-of-14 from the 3-point range and 16-of-27 from the free-throw line. SHSU outrebounded the Huskies by one, 38-37. The Huskies dominated in the paint 36-14.

­The Huskies were down 9-8, in the first quarter, after layups by Carr and Daub and four free throws by Johnson. A jumper by the Bearkats started a Husky 7-0 run highlighted by back-to-back buckets by Calver and a jumper by Johnson. After a shot by Taylor from the 3-point range, the Huskies led for as many as eight points. The last five points were made from behind the line, two of which by HBU, ending the first 22-15.The Huskies maintained their lead throughout the second quarter. Taylor, freshman guard Megan Valdez-Crader and Kirienko all had shots to bring the Huskies to an eight-point advantage. After an 9-5 run, the Bearkats made it a four-point game. With 40 second to go, Daub made a jumper, but the Bearkats put away a  3-pointer to end the half with a Husky lead, 35-32.

The Huskies started the third quarter with a 9-0 run driven by Johnson, Taylor and Carr. The Bearkats scored the next 14 out of 15 points to tie the game, 47-47. Neither team put a shot up for the next three minutes. Johnson ended the drought with a layup, but within seconds Sam Houston evened the score, 49-49. Calver, Taylor and Johnson helped the Huskies to an 8-2 start to the fourth quarter. The Bearkats made it a three-point game with less than three minutes to go, but Daub drained a three pointer to extend the lead and Taylor put it away with the final shot.