HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Junior
Anna McKendree scored a career-high 21 points for the Nicholls State University women's basketball team, but a rough showing in the first half by the Colonels was too much to overcome in a 72-58 loss at Sam Houston on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.
Nicholls (6-10, 5-4 SLC) scored just nine points in each of the first two quarters and had 20 turnovers before the break, resulting in a 36-18 deficit. With the help of McKendree's 18 second-half points, the Colonels turned it around but were never able to shrink the deficit to less than eight points as Sam Houston (9-5, 5-3 SLC) evened up the season series.
The Colonels shot 43.5 percent from the field for the game but had trouble finding points early by making only 6 of 22 in the first half. The offense produced 20 points in both the third and fourth quarters, connecting at a 58 percent clip following the intermission.
Nicholls made a run in the third, outscoring Sam Houston 11-1 over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch. McKendree sank a step-back 3-pointer to help ignite the run, and
Alex Bolozova scored three straight field goals to cut the Bearkat lead to 46-38 late in the quarter. However, Sam Houston countered with a 10-0 spurt over the next 3:30 and never looked back.
Chyna Allen joined McKendree in double figures, scoring 13 points to go along with three assists. Allen accounted for half of the offense in the first 20 minutes, scoring nine of the team's 18 points.
McKendree's 21 points came in an efficient 23 minutes where she shot 6 of 9 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point range. She also matched her career-high of five steals as Nicholls totaled 12 in the loss.
Sam Houston was led by a pair of 20-point performances by Amber Leggett and Faith Cook. As a team, the Bearkats also shot 43.5 percent from the field and totaled 11 steals off of the Colonels' 32 season-high turnovers.
UP NEXT
Nicholls returns home for the first time since Jan. 23, hosting Lamar University on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tipoff in Stopher Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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