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Sam Houston celebrates 40 years of women's college basketball during the 2009-10 season.

Four decades ago, a 29-year-old coach named Jody Conradt came to Huntsville to organize and field the Bearkats' first intercollegiate women's team.

Conradt had averaged 40 points a game as a high school player at Goldwaite, Texas, and played in college for Baylor. She taught school and coached at Waco High School before entering the college ranks with the Bearkats.

Her success at Sam Houston would lead her eventually to 900 career victories, 31 years as head coach at the University of Texas and membership in the International Sports and NCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fames.

The first Sam Houston women's basketball team was called the "Bearkittens." Their first season they rolled up a 17-2 record playing the old six-player rules. Three players would play on the offensive end of the floor and three on the defensive end.

In 1970-71, women's college basketball in Texas adopted the new "five man rules" and Sam Houston again posted a winning record of 18-7.

After putting together a 74-23 record in four years as basketball coach and 97-18 mark in three seasons as volleyball, Conradt left to become head coach at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The late Rebecca Bilsing took over both the women's basketball and volleyball programs in 1973-74 as Sam Houston began competing in the Texas Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (TAIAW).

The Bearkittens compiled a 133-113 won-loss record under Bilsing, making state tournament appearances in 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982. Bilsing was named to the Sam Houston Hall of Honor in 2007.

Sam Houston State's first scoring sensation joined the program 10 years after its inaugural season.

From 1979-80 to 1982-83, Sherry Pfister set school scoring records that still stand. While leading "The Kittens" to two TAIAW regional championships, Pfister scored 1,975 points in 105 games, an averaged of 18.8 per contest. Her single game scoring record of 37 points against Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1981 stood for nine years before Sirena Autman broke it with 38 points against Grambling.

Pfister's senior year in 1982-83, women's basketball was adopted as a sport by the Lone Star Conference and the team, now known as the LadyKats, began competing at the NCAA Division II level.

Kim Basinger coached the women from 1982-83 to 1984-85, directing Sam Houston to the Lone Star Conference post-season tournament finals in 1984.

In 1984-85, Sam Houston moved into the Gulf Star Conference. In 1987-88, the Kats moved up to the NCAA Division I level as members of their current league, the Southland Conference.

Current Bearkat women's basketball head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols played on Sam Houston's first Southland team. Nichols rolled up 17.8 points per game, the second highest career scoring average by a Bearkat in her two years under head coach Royce Chadwick.

Between Chadwick's and Nichols' tenures as SHSU women's coach, the program was directed by four other head coaches (Debbie Adams in 1989-90, Vic Schaefer in 1990-91 through 1996-97; Erika Ritter from 1998-99 to 2002-03 and James "Wooly" Hatchell from 2003-04 to 2008-09).

Sam Houston's two most successful seasons at the NCAA Division I level came in 1987-88 when the Kats went 18-9 and finished fourth in the Southland and in 1995-96 when SHSU was 18-10 and placed third in the league.

The Bearkats have earned Southland Conference post-season tournament berths 10 times, the last in 2003-04. Sam Houston reached the semi-finals in the Southland tournament in both 1996 and 1997.

Nine Sam Houston State women have scored more than 1,000 career points. Besides Pfister, the all-time leader with 1,975 points, the other eight are Shayla Teague (1,487 points in 1995-99), Stacy Allen (1,302 in 2000-04), Sirena Autman (1,270 in 1988-91), Alicia Ferguson (1,140 in 1997-2000), Andee Sheiron (1,129 in 1996-99), Altanette Denley 1,118 in 1980-82), Alice Johnson (1,109 in 2000-2003) and Cathy Hooks (1,054 in 1977-80).

The Bearkat women's 1,000-point club could pick up its 10th member during the 40th anniversary season. Senior Whitney Smith begins 2009-10 with 864 points, just 136 points away from four-digits.

The Ole Miss Rebels open Sam Houston's regular season home schedule on Tuesday Nov. 17 at 12 noon.

$1 general admission and $5 reserved tickets for all men's and women's basketball games in November and December will be made available in a special promotional offer for just 72 hours beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday November 11.  Area fans may purchase tickets online only via www.gobearkats.com for this one-time only opportunity to see any or all of those six contests for just $1 a game.

Use this link to learn more about the $1 Basketball Ticket Sale for 72-Hours for November and December basketball home games.

For more information on tickets to all Bearkat home athletic events, go to www.gobearkats.com or contact the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.