2023–24 Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball team

2023–24 Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record7–22 (2–14 C-USA)
Head coach
  • Ravon Justice (5th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Brittany Mason
  • Martin Pazanin
  • Simeon Burton
Home arenaBernard Johnson Coliseum
Seasons
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
2023–24 Conference USA women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee † 16 – 0   1.000 30 – 5   .857
Liberty 11 – 5   .688 18 – 16   .529
FIU 11 – 5   .688 21 – 12   .636
Louisiana Tech 7 – 9   .438 14 – 19   .424
Jacksonville State 7 – 9   .438 12 – 17   .414
New Mexico State 6 – 10   .375 13 – 18   .419
Western Kentucky 6 – 10   .375 15 – 17   .469
UTEP 6 – 10   .375 12 – 19   .387
Sam Houston 2 – 14   .125 7 – 22   .241
† 2024 CUSA tournament winner

The 2023–24 Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball team represented Sam Houston State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bearkats, led by fifth-year head coach Ravon Justice, played their home games at the Bernard Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas as first-year members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Bearkats finished the 2022–23 season 13–17, 8–10 in WAC play to finish in a tie for eighth place.[1] As the #9 seed in the WAC tournament, they defeated #8 seed Abilene Christian in the first round,[2] before falling to top-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the quarterfinals.[3] This was the Bearkats' last season as members of the Western Athletic Conference, as they became members of Conference USA, effective July 1, 2023.[4]

Roster

2023–24 Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Sydnee Kemp 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) RS Jr Lee's Summit West High School Kansas City, Missouri
G 1 Kaila Kelley 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Trinity Valley Community College Cedar Hill, Texas
G 3 Kelis Grant 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Cedar Hill High School Cedar Hill, Texas
G 10 Kassidy Dixon 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Eastern Arizona College Goodyear, Arizona
G 11 Diana Rosenthal 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GS Prairie View A&M St. Petersburg, Florida
F 12 Elena Houghton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Hartford Washington, D.C.
F 13 Kaylee Jefferson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr East Carolina Sulphur Springs, Texas
F 14 Raanee Smith 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Colorado Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 15 Alexus Seaton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS UC Irvine Fort Worth, Texas
G 22 Shanti Henry 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Western Nebraska Community College Wichita, Kansas
G 23 Bryana Block 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So Liberty-Eylau High School Texarkana, Texas
G 25 Diarrah Sissoko 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Grayson College Bamako, Mali
G 32 Tamera Derrough 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) Jr Southwestern Assemblies of God Arlington, Texas
Head coach
  • Ravon Justice (USAO)
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: January 31, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Houston Christian W 67–65  1–0
  14 – Kemp   13 – Smith   2 – 3 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (533)
Huntsville, TX
November 14, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Houston L 65–106  1–1
  20 – Kemp   8 – Smith   1 – 5 Tied  Fertitta Center (964)
Houston, TX
November 17, 2023*
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Schreiner W 96–43  2–1
  22 – Jefferson   12 – Smith   8 – Henry  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (416)
Huntsville, TX
November 21, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Texas State W 66–62  3–1
  19 – Rosenthal   11 – Smith   1 – 3 Tied  Strahan Arena (782)
San Marcos, TX
November 25, 2023*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UTSA L 56–63  3–2
  14 – Kemp   9 – Jefferson   4 – Jefferson  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (235)
Huntsville, TX
December 1, 2023*
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		Florida A&M W 65–62  4–2
  15 – Jefferson   9 – Smith   4 – Jefferson  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (428)
Huntsville, TX
December 5, 2023*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Texas Tech L 60–93  4–3
  15 – Sissoko   6 – Smith   3 – 2 Tied  United Supermarkets Arena (4,069)
Lubbock, TX
December 10, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Texas College W 114–51  5–3
  22 – Smith   16 – Smith   5 – Rosenthal  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (377)
Huntsville, TX
December 16, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UT Arlington L 65–76  5–4
  15 – Rosenthal   7 – 3 Tied   4 – Kemp  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (407)
Huntsville, TX
December 18, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at SMU L 64–69  5–5
  13 – 2 Tied   11 – Jefferson   4 – Dixon  Moody Coliseum (1,186)
University Park, TX
December 21, 2023*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Utah Valley L 69–73 OT 5–6
  14 – Smith   11 – 2 Tied   4 – Henry  UCCU Center (304)
Orem, UT
December 30, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UT Rio Grande Valley L 58–66  5–7
  13 – Smith   11 – Smith   2 – 3 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (407)
Huntsville, TX
C-USA regular season
January 6, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Louisiana Tech L 62–66  5–8
(0–1) 		 17 – Rosenthal   11 – Smith   2 – 2 Tied  Thomas Assembly Center (1,863)
Ruston, LA
January 10, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Western Kentucky L 60–76  5–9
(0–2) 		 12 – Smith   9 – Smith   4 – Kemp  E. A. Diddle Arena (853)
Bowling Green, KY
January 13, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Middle Tennessee L 55–87  5–10
(0–3) 		 18 – Jefferson   5 – Dixon   3 – 2 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (396)
Huntsville, TX
January 20, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Liberty L 77–84  5–11
(0–4) 		 17 – Kemp   8 – Smith   4 – Kemp  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (481)
Huntsville, TX
January 25, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at New Mexico State L 63–76  5–12
(0–5) 		 11 – Derrough   8 – Smith   2 – 2 Tied  Pan American Center (458)
Las Cruces, NM
January 27, 2024
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UTEP L 61–66  5–13
(0–6) 		 16 – Jefferson   7 – Houghton   4 – 2 Tied  Don Haskins Center (1,435)
El Paso, TX
February 1, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Kentucky W 87–81  6–13
(1–6) 		 26 – Jefferson   12 – Smith   5 – 2 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (415)
Huntsville, TX
February 3, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		FIU L 65–71  6–14
(1–7) 		 17 – Dixon   8 – Dixon   2 – 3 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (510)
Huntsville, TX
February 8, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Jacksonville State L 56–58  6–15
(1–8) 		 17 – Henry   9 – Smith   2 – 2 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (413)
Huntsville, TX
February 15, 2024
10:00 am, ESPN+ 		at FIU L 49–64  6–16
(1–9) 		 9 – Derrough   10 – Smith   2 – Henry  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (2,084)
Miami, FL
February 17, 2024
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Liberty L 56–86  6–17
(1–10) 		 15 – Jefferson   10 – Smith   1 – 5 Tied  Liberty Arena (1,253)
Lynchburg, VA
February 22, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		New Mexico State W 66–56 OT 7–17
(2–10) 		 15 – Sissoko   19 – Smith   3 – 2 Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (449)
Huntsville, TX
February 24, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UTEP L 66–82  7–18
(2–11) 		 18 – 2 Tied   9 – Houghton   7 – Derrough  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (570)
Huntsville, TX
March 2, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Middle Tennessee L 62–93  7–19
(2–12) 		 18 – Jefferson   9 – Smith   4 – Smith  Murphy Center (3,712)
Murfreesboro, TN
March 6, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Louisiana Tech L 57–71  7–20
(2–13) 		 15 – Henry   7 – Dixon   5 – Jefferson  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (491)
Huntsville, TX
March 9, 2024
2:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville State L 70–74 OT 7–21
(2–14) 		 19 – Kemp   10 – Smith   3 – Kemp  Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,223)
Jacksonville, AL
C-USA tournament
March 12, 2024
5:30 pm, ESPN+ 		(9) vs. (8) UTEP
First Round 		L 64–78  7–22
  19 – Henry   7 – Jefferson   6 – Seaton  Von Braun Center (227)
Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Kats stun ACU in final seconds to advance". Sam Houston. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  3. ^ "Johnson and Harrison Record Double-Doubles as Ladyjacks Axe the No. 9 Bearkats". Stephen F. Austin. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  4. ^ "Conference USA Officially Welcomes Four New Members". Conference USA. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Sam Houston. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  6. ^ "Sam Houston Bearkats 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved January 31, 2024.