The Sam Houston women’s basketball team faces an important early season Southland Conference showdown Thursday evening when the Bearkats travel to Beaumont to face Lamar.
Just a week into the league race and only three teams remain unbeaten in Southland play. Lamar stands 3-0 while the Kats and Central Arkansas both have won their first two games.
The Bearkats vs. Cardinals matchup Thursday will feature three of the Southland Conference’s top scorers.
Kalis Loyd, a 6-2 senior from Sweden, ranks second in the league in scoring with 18.5 points per game. Sam Houston’s Britni Martin ranks No. 4 with 17.6 points and Sequeena Thomas stands No. 8 with 13.7 points per contest. Thomas is the Southland’s top rebounder with 12.1 boards per game.
“Throughout the pre-conference play our focus has been on getting ready for the Southland race,” Bearkat head coach Brenda Nichols said. “We played some tough opponents on the road in December to get us ready for games just like this one Thursday.”
On their run to a 12-4 record in conference play and a No. 3 seed in the Southland post-season tournament, Sam Houston defeated Lamar 72-59 in Beaumont last year.
Martin, Thomas and fellow senior Chanice Smith have been mainstays for the Kats who stand 6-8 for the season. The trio has accounted for 40.7 of the team’s 63.7 points per game.
Martin owns a streak of 30 consecutive games in double figures scoring including 14 contests this year and the final 16 games of the 2011-12 season.
Thomas holds the SHSU record for most games with double figure points and rebounds (41). She has nine double-doubles this season. Thomas led the Southland and ranked No. 2 nationally in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in rebounds last year with a 14.4 average.
The senior is 36 rebounds away from becoming Sam Houston’s all-time rebound leader.
The Sam Houston vs. Lamar women’s game will be broadcast live by KSAM FM 101.7.
