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Game 1 • vs Southwestern Christian 

Huntsville • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100) 

Sam Houston (0-0, 0-0 CUSA) vs Southwestern Christian (2-0, 0-0 SAC) 

Monday, November 2 • 4:00 PM 

 

TV: ESPN+ (Matt Pedersen, Ken Holland) 

RADIO: BSN (Stephanie Keele); KSHU 90.5 FM 

HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_WBB 

Series vs the Eagles: First Meeting 

 

HUNTSVILLE – The eighth season of the Ravon Justice era of Sam Houston Women’s Basketball will get going on Monday when the Bearkats begin a challenging non-conference schedule against Southwestern Christian at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. 

Tipoff for the season opener is set for 4:00 p.m. as the front end of a doubleheader which will be capped by the Bearkat men’s team opening its season vs LeTourneau. The game will air on ESPN+ with Matt Pedersen and Ken Holland bringing the action from courtside.  

The game can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and the Bearkat Athletics app with Stephanie Keele moving behind the mic for the Kats for the 2025-26 season. 

KATS TO KICK OFF 2025-26 SEASON IN HUNTSVILLE 

– For the first time as a member of Conference USA, Justice will welcome back an experienced team with 9 returning letterwinners and all 5 primary starters from 2024-25 on the roster. In total, the Kats have 73.9 percent of its scoring back from a year ago 

– Deborah Ogayemi headlines the returners, earning Preseason All-CUSA honors for this year after landing on the All-CUSA second team at the end of last season. The second-year transfer from UTRGV averaged 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last year with a team-best 7 double-doubles  

– Defense has been a hallmark of Justice’s Bearkat teams since her arrival and this year has the potential to be her best unit yet. The Kats ranked sixth in the country with 23.4 turnovers forced per game in 2024-25 and were 13th nationally with an average of 11.6 steals per game 

 

– Fanta Kone spearheaded that defensive effort with a CUSA-best 3.0 steals per game and was 1 of 3 Kats to rank in the top 6 individually in the league in steals per contest. Ogayemi (2.6 spg) and Aysia Ward-Strong (2.2 spg) were there in the top 6, with each returning for 2025-26 

 

– Ravon Justice goes into the 2025-26 season opener with 98 wins to her credit at Sam Houston. With 2 more victories she would join Rebecca Bilsing and Brenda Nichols as the only 3 head coaches in program history to accumulate 100 wins at SHSU 

 

– Following the Kats’ opener vs SCU, they will head to Fort Worth to battle TCU. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 17 in the initial AP poll, which will make TCU just the second ranked opponent Sam Houston has faced in the last 13 seasons. SHSU last faced a ranked opponent when it took on then No. 10 Texas A&M during the 2020-21 season. Prior to that, the Kats had not faced a ranked foe since taking on No. 10 Delaware during the 2012-13 season