Only eight teams make the post-season event in Katy March 9-12 and, right now, the Bearkats are one of those eight.

But Nicholls, their opponent Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Johnson Coliseum, is just one game behind and the winner of the contest will have an important tiebreaker in the fight for post-season glory.

Sam Houston (5-15 season 2-6 Southland) will be seeking to end a four-game losing streak while Nicholls (4-17 season 1-8 Southland) is fresh off of an upset Saturday of Southland West Division second place team Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Last year, the Kats rolled up a 6-10 Southland record to tie for seventh place in the overall league standings. But Sam Houston was odd team out in a three-way tiebreaker.

"Missing out on playing in the tournament was tough last year and going to the tournament in Katy this year is one of our big goals this year," Sam Houston's top scorer Whitney Smith said.

Smith, a 5-11 senior forward, is one of three players scoring in double figures this season for Sam Houston. She averages 12.3 points per game and ranks eighth in Bearkat women's all-time scoring with 1,109 points.

Brittany Brooks will join Smith in the career 1,000-point club with her first basket Wednesday night. The 5-5 senior guard, who leads the team with 13.2 points per game this year, has scored 999 points in 106 games as a Bearkat. She left Saturday's game at Central Arkansas with an injured finger but will be able to play Wednesday.

Her backcourt partner, 5-4 Ray Alexander, also is scoring in double figures with 11.5 points per game.

"We're halfway through the conference schedule and the girls have been fighting hard," SHSU head coach Brenda Nichols said. "We've played well at home this year and it definitely will help us in a big game like this to have the crowd behind us." 

Nicholls is led by 5-6 guard Ricshanda Bickham with 17.9 points per game and 5-11 forward Alisha Allen with a 14.5 average.

The Colonels have edged Sam Houston each of the last three years in a trio of down-to-the-wire thrillers. Nicholls won 82-78 in Huntsville in 2007 and 81-80 and 76-74 the past two seasons in Thibodaux.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on KHVL 1490 AM.

Tickets for Sam Houston women's basketball are on sale online at www.gobearkats.com 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 number is (936) 294-1729.

Tournament ticket booklets for the annual State Farm Southland Conference Post-Season Classic are now on-sale for $75 online at www.gobearkats.com or at the Sam Houston Athletic Ticket Office.