: ''For information on all Sam Houston State University sports, see

Sam Houston State Bearkats The Sam Houston State Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white and their sports teams' nickname is the Bearkats. Sam Hou ...

'' The Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The Bearkats are members of

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

. Sam Houston joined the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

on July 1, 2021 after playing the previous 34 seasons in the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

, the Bearkats played in the WAC until the conclusion of the 2023 season. The Bearkats are currently coached by Ravon Justice.

History

The Bearkats have played since the 1969–70 season. They reached the Southland Tournament finals in 2013 and 2016, losing to Oral Roberts 72–66 and Central Arkansas 69–62, respectively. They played in the TWIAFAF Texas Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (TAIAW) from 1969 to 1982, the Lone Star Conference (Division II) from 1982 to 1984, and the Gulf Star Conference (Division II) from 1984 to 1987 until they settled into the Southland Conference, starting play there in the 1987–88 season. They have reached the WNIT once, in 2013, losing to Tulane 65–57. They also participated in the 2012 Women's Basketball Invitational, beating Rice 73–55 but losing to Northern Iowa 78–69. The most wins the Bearkats have had in one season was 27 in 1981–82, with the most Division I wins being in 1987–88, 1995–96, 2011–12 and 2012–13, with 18. They have a 575–708 all-time record as of the end of the 2015–16 season.

Postseason history

The Bearkats have made two postseason appearances, with one being the

Women's Basketball Invitational The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for t ...

and one being in the

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournam ...

. They have never made the NCAA Tournament.

WNIT appearances

The Bearkats have appeared in the

once. They have a record of 0–1.

WBI appearances

The Bearkats have appeared in the

(WBI) once. They have a record of 1–1.

References

External links

* {{collegebasketball-team-stub