Bearkats Edges Lumberjacks 51-43 In Piney Woods Battle
Courtesy: Charlie Blalock
Courtesy: Paul Ridings,Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Houston, Texas – Brian Bell passed for 168 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for two other scores to lead Sam Houston State to a 51-43 Southland Conference victory over Stephen F. Austin Saturday before a record crowd of 26,185 at Reliant Stadium.
Bell’s second touchdown, a nine-yard run, gave Sam Houston a 51-28 lead with 13:05 to play in the fourth.
Stephen F. Austin, led by wide receiver Cordell Roberson who caught 14 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, battled back. Roberson scored on passes of three and eight yards after back-to-back 51 yards.
When the Bearkats could not pick up a first down, the Jacks drove down to the Bearkat 30 yard line where, on fourth down and 10, Brady Attaway’s pass sailed just over Roberson’s hands to end the game.
Attaway completed 39 of 76 paases for 545 yards and six touchdowns.
Sam Houston State rolled up 566 yards total offense while SFA totaled 396.
All-America running back Tim Flanders gained 125 yards on 27 carries including a long of 44 yards. Bell rushed for 69 yards.
Trey Diller led the Bearkats with 97 yards receiving.
Sam Houston trailed 14-3 in the first quarter but fought back to take a 23-14 halftime lead. The big play in the first half was a 92-yard interception return by Bookie Sneed. The return set a school record, breaking the record of 90 yards by Paul Wenzel set in 1968 against Sul Ross.
Sneed, Darnell Taylor and Kenneth Jenkins led the Kat defense, each with 10 tackles. Taylor also intercepted an Attaway pass.
Sam Houston upped its record to 3-2 for the year while SFA dropped to 2-3. Both teams are 1-1 in Southland Conference action.
Bearkats Receives Invite To Pre-Season WNIT
by Cheval John
After making their first national post-season tournament appearance, the Sam Houston State Bearkat women’s basketball team will start the 2012-13 season with an invite to the Pre-Season Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
The Bearkats will face the University of Delaware Blue Hens in the opening round of the tournament in Newark, Delaware.
The winner of the match will advance to the second round of the tournament
The Blue Hens were the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Conference Champions last season and are looking to start their title defense in style.
“From what I know, they are a very good team coming off last year,” Bearkat women’s basketball head coach Brenda Nichols said to a representative of the SHSU’s athletic department media relations.
“We are excited for this opportunity and look forward to being able to play some intense and exciting competitors.”
The Blue Hens will be led by senior forward/guard Elena Delle Donne.
Delle Donne is an All-American who averaged 26.1 points per game, made 91.9% of her free throws and shot 38.8% from the three-point line last season.
She received honors from the Associated Press, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), United States Writers Association, the Naismith Award and John Wooden Award.
She was named “Player of the Year” by the CAA and was a finalist for “Player of the Year” by the WBCA, Naismith and Wooden Awards.
“You can’t really measure yourself as a player without going up against the best,” Nichols said. “There is no doubt she is one of the best and will be a true challenge for our team.”
The Bearkats are looking forward to that challenge as they are returning 12 letterman from last year’s team who were the West Division Champions of the Southland Conference and made their first national post-season appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).
They made it to the semi-final round of the tournament, where they were knocked off by the University of Northern Iowa.
Leading the charge for the Bearkats are seniors Britni Martin and Sequeena Thomas.
Martin was ranked 10th in the nation for three-pointers (2.93 per game) and scored 523 total points for the season.
She was runner-up for the Southland Conference’s “Player of the Year” that went to Central Arkansas’ Megan Herbert.
Thomas led the Southland Conference in rebounds (12.6 per game).
She averaged 14.8 points per game and had an average of 2.0 blocks which ranked her #9 and #2 in the conference, respectively.
The tournament consists of 16 teams from around the country and will be held from November 9 to November 16-17.
The Bearkats-Blue Hen match will begin at 7 p.m.
For more information on the tournament, visit www.womensnit.com.