Sam Houston's women's basketball game with UT-Arlington, originally scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip tonight at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, has been postponed due to weather conditions.
The Mavericks were not able to leave Arlington this morning due to icy conditions in the Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex.
The contest has been rescheduled for Thursday (tomorrow), tentatively at 4 p.m.
The Sam Houston women's basketball team finds itself in an unusual place as the Bearkats prepare to play host to UTA. One game past the mid-point of the 2011 Southland Conference campaign, the Kats stand atop the league's West Division with a 6-3 conference mark.
In 24 years of competition in the Southland, a Sam Houston women's basketball team has never been in first place at this point of the season. Only once has a Bearkat squad surpassed this year's team in league victories nine games into the SLC campaign. The 1996 team that ended up third in the league was 7-2 nine contests into league play.
Most amazing about this year's women's performance is the youth of the Bearkat squad. The starting line-up consists of four sophomores and a junior. Two freshmen and two juniors are the first four players off the bench.
"This is a special group. They really showed their maturity last weekend when we had all the problems traveling to Southeastern Louisiana," head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols said.
Due to leave Friday afternoon, the Bearkats did not depart Huntsville until late Saturday morning.
"After a six-hour bus trip, we basically walked into the gym, suited up and played," Nichols said. The Kats battled back from a 10-point deficit to defeat the Lions 64-52.
Sam Houston brings a 12-11 season record into Wednesday's night game. Four Bearkats rank high in Southland Conference statistics categories.
Britni Martin is the league's second-leading scorer with 16.1 points per game. Sequeena Thomas ranks 10th in scoring (13.8) and second in rebounds (9.5). Chanice Smith is 18th in scoring (11.4 points per game). Khamra Echols stands third in the Southland in assists (4.0).
UT-Arlington brings a 6-14 overall mark and a 3-5 Southland Conference record into Wednesday's game. Tammara Simmons leads UTA with a 15.4 scoring mean, the fifth best in the league.
Sam Houston defeated UTA 67-53 in Arlington on January 13. Smith led the Bearkats to victory with 23 points. The win marked Sam Houston's first on the stage at Texas Hall in Arlington since 2000. UTA leads the all-time women's series with Sam Houston 38 victories to 13.
The Bearkat women's game with UTA will be broadcast live on KHVL 1490 AM and video streamed on www.gobearkats.com.
Tickets for all Sam Houston home athletic events are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
