The Sam Houston State Bearkats women’s basketball team kept up with the Stephen F. Austin Lady Jacks from the opening tip-off but came up short as they were defeated 75-53 at the Battle of the Piney Woods.

The Bearkats were able to hold their own against the Ladyjacks Austin at the end of the first quarter, only down by one point 17-16. In that opening quarter, sophomore guard Jenniffer Omaras was able to hit the team’s only three-pointer of the quarter as the rest of the squad went zero for four from behind the arch. The Bearkats would go three for 18 in the game from behind the arch.

One Bearkat was able to stand out in the game and make her contribution felt on the court. Junior forward Lydia Baxter scored 16 points on five of seven shooting from the field with six of seven from the charity stripe. Baxter was also able to grab five rebounds and two blocks while sharing the ball for four assists

“I came in with the mentality that I wanted to and us as a team wanted to in order to beat them, and I was going to prove that we weren’t scared of them,” Baxter said.

At the half, the Bearkats trailed 35-30 to the Ladyjacks. The leading performer in the first half for the Bearkats was Oramas with seven points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal with a 33.3 shooting percentage from three-point territory.

Bearkats head coach Brenda Nichols, despite the loss, is proud of her team’s effort on the court in the game.

“We played hard,” Nichols said. “We just ran out of a little bit of intensity at the end, and I give it to our players. They came out here and they played.”

The Bearkats lost the turnover battle, giving the ball up 20 times during the game as opposed to SFA’s 13. SHSU, however, was able to shoot effectively in the third quarter, shooting 46.2 percent. After the third quarter of play, the Kats lead in the category of bench points with 20 as opposed to the Ladyjacks 11 points.

The Bearkats will travel back home to Huntsville and face their next opponent at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson Coliseum as they take on the McNeese State Cowgirls­.