SMU (5-6, 0-1 ACC) vs Sam Houston State (5-3, 0-0 CUSA)
Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum– Huntsville, Texas
Friday, December 19, 2025 – 5 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Watch SMU Radio:  SMU Mobile App | The Varsity Network 
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SMU (5-6, 0-1 ACC) vs Southern (4-5, 0-0 SWAC)
David B. Miller Court at Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Sunday, December 21, 2025 – 4 p.m. CT
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SMU Notes | Southern | ACC
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball team continues its 50^th season in program history by closing out its non-conference slate this weekend, traveling to Huntsville, Texas, to face Sam Houston State on Friday before returning to Moody Coliseum on Sunday to face Southern.

Friday's game will tip off at 5 pm CT and air on ESPN+. Sunday's game is the second of a double-header in Moody Coliseum and is scheduled to tip off at 4 pm CT following the SMU men's basketball game against Central Arkansas at 1 pm. Fans can also listen to both games live on the SMU Mobile App or follow along via live stats found here.

Sunday's game is the SMU Holiday Hoops game as fans are encouraged to celebrate the holiday season by wearing their most festive holiday outfit to the game. The game's giveaway item is a commemorative 50 years of SMU WBB lapel pin, and a teddy bear toss will be held at halftime. Fans can bring their own Teddy Bear to donate.

Season and single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are available now and can be purchased here. For the first time this season, fans can also purchase an 8-Game Flex Pass. Use all eight at one game or spread them out however you like across the season. More information on all ticket options can be found here. For any ticket questions, please contact 214-SMU-GAME or email tickets@smu.edu.

The Mustangs have won four of their last five games and enter the weekend with a record of 5-6 overall. SMU is still searching for its first road win this season and will have the chance to accomplish that at Sam Houston. The Mustangs are 4-3 at home this season, while Sahnya Jah is averaging over 15 points per game in Moody this season.

Sahnya Jah has been a scoring machine over the last three games, tying he career high with 22 points against Arkansas and Syracuse. In that span, she is 21-of-43 from the field and hauled in 19 rebounds, including nine against the Orange. She led SMU with 16 points in the team's win over Coppin State last time out.

Eleven games into the season, the Mustangs have three players averaging double figures per game: Sahnya Jah (13.7) Tyi Skinner (13.6), Zahra King (12.9).

King leads SMU in points scored with 142 total points and is coming off scoring a career high of 23 against Southern Miss.  She has scored in double figures in six of the team's 11 games this season, including scoring over 14 points in three of her last six games.

King has been incredibly efficient, shooting 52.8% from the field. Her field goal percentage ranks fifth in the ACC.  

After missing a couple of games to begin the season, Tyi Skinner looks to be in midseason form as she is averaging over 15 points per game in her last five games, which includes a 27-point performance against Winthrop.

Against Arkansas, Skinner scored 17 points and tallied a career high 10 assists and did not record a turnover.  The most assists by a Mustang since Jasmine Smith set the program record for assists in a game with 12 versus North Texas (12/7/22).

On offense, SMU ranks fifth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (14.2) and fifth in the ACC / 50^th in the NCAA in bench points per game (27.5). SMU has had six games with 30+ points off the bench, including a season-high of 38 against Arkansas.

SMU has also had seven games with over 30 points in the paint this season, which includes scoring 30 against Syracuse.
  
SMU's defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank third in the ACC / 50^th in the NCAA in steals per game at 11.3. SMU also ranks fifth in the ACC / 28^th in the NCAA in blocks per game (5.0) and fifth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (19.18).

Kyla Deck has been a force on defense, ranking third in the ACC in total steals with 42 (8th in the NCAA) and second in the ACC in steals per game with 3.8 (9^th in the NCAA). Deck is coming off her seventh game this season with four or more steals, as she recorded five against Coppin State.

SMU is third in the ACC in total steals with 124 and has recorded double-digit steals in all but three games this season. The Mustangs' eight games with double-digit steals are already the most in a single season since the 2023-24 season (9), and the team's 84 steals in the first seven games were the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season.

SMU is 5-6 under head coach  Adia Barnes. Barnes, a former WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist and Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 5.

As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a Power 4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

// THE MATCH UPS

• Friday's game will be the 12^th time Sam Houston and SMU have squared off against each other. SMU leads the overall series 10-1 and has won the last nine meetings, including a 69-64 win over the Bearkats in Moody on Dec. 12, 2023, the last time the two teams played.
• It will be the second time in the series' history that the game will be played in Huntsville, Texas, and the first since 1993, when SMU won 79-58 (2/1/93).   
• The Bearkats are coming off an xxx-xx loss against Alabama on Tuesday. SHSU is 4-0 at home this season.
• Sunday's game will be the first-ever game between SMU and Southern. The Jaguars are 4-5 this season but do have recent wins over Houston and Arizona.

// (ACC)OMPLISH GREATNESS

• ACC teams have combined to register 117 nonconference victories this season.
• The ACC has played 27 nonconference games against AP Top 25 opponents this season (and 28 against USA TODAY Coaches Poll teams), the most among peer power conferences.
• ACC teams have played 56 nonconference games against Quad 1 or Quad 2 opponents, with the next closest conference being the Big Ten (42).
• Three ACC teams rank in the top 10 nationally for hardest strength of schedule played this season (based on Division I opponents only): Florida State (third), NC State (fifth) and Duke (sixth). As a conference, the ACC ranks third nationally and second among peer power conferences in strength of schedule.
•  Three teams are currently ranked in the AP Poll: Louisville (No. 16), North Carolina (No. 18) and Notre Dame (No. 20). NC State is receiving votes.
• Three ACC teams appear in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll: North Carolina (No. 16), Louisville (No. 17) and Notre Dame (No. 20). Duke is receiving votes.
• The ACC currently has 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET: Louisville (No. 13), North Carolina (No. 17), Notre Dame (No. 19), Virginia (No. 29), NC State (No. 30), Stanford (No. 32), Duke (No. 38), Syracuse (No. 39), Miami (No. 49) and Clemson (No. 50).

// DYNAMIC TRIO

• Zahra King, Tyi Skinner and Sahnya Jah have been on a tear recently, as each of the trio is averaging over 13 points per game.
• King has scored in double figures in three of her last six games, including scoring a career high 23 points against Southern Miss. King is fifth in the ACC in field goal percentage (52.8%)
• Skinner is coming off recording her second career double-double as she recorded 17 points and 10 assists against Arkansas. Her 10 assists are tied for the ninth most in a single game in program history. She leads the Mustangs in assists with 29.
• Skinner scored 27 points against Winthrop and is averaging 18 points over her last three games. It was her 34th career 20-point game as she made five 3-pointers and currently leads SMU in 3-pointers made with 14.
• Skinner is also 18-of-19 from the line over her last five games and is making 82% of her foul shots this season.
• Sahnya Jah scored 22 points in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Arkansas and had a team-high 16 points in the win over Coppin State.
•  Jah has scored over 16 points in four of her seven games played this season. Jah is also averaging 6.0 rebounds per game this season.

// OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• The Mustangs have made it a point to get offensive rebounds this season, as the team ranks fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game.
• Zahra King has been incredibly efficient as she is scoring over 13 points a game and shooting 52.8% from the field this season. She leads all ACC guards in field goal percentage and is fifth in the conference overall.
• SMU has had three games with four or more players reaching double figures.
• The Mustangs had five players reach double figures in their win over Grambling State, a feat achieved only twice last season. SMU defeated GSU 96-70, the most points scored in a game since SMU scored 96 against Alabama State in 2023.

// DOMINATE DEFENSE

• SMU has forced 211 turnovers this season and has forced 20 or more in six games this season.
• SMU tied its season high, forcing 24 turnovers in the win over Coppin State.  SMU's six games with 20 or more turnovers are now the most in a single season since the 2019-20 season (12).
• Deck ranks third in the ACC in total steals with 42 (6^th in the NCAA) and second in the ACC in steals per game at 3.82 (9^th in the NCAA). Deck has recorded 208 steals in her career.  Deck has totaled four games with five or more steals this season, including two six-steal games. 
• The Mustangs also forced 24 turnovers and recorded a season high 16 steals against GCU. Four mustangs finished with three steals in the game.
• Deck recorded six steals against Grambling State, which was tied for the most by any ACC player in their team's season-opening game.

 // IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

• SMU has totaled 55 blocks this season, the fifth most in the ACC. The team's 5.0 blocks per game ranks fifth in the conference and 28^th in the NCAA.
• SMU recorded a season high of eight blocks against Arkansas. Anaya Brown leads the team in total blocks with 17.
• Brown has three games this season with three blocks and has totaled 19 career games with three or more. She has now totaled 149 blocks in her career. Her 17 blocks this season rank 15^th  in the ACC, and her 1.6 blocks per game rank sixth in the conference.

// LETTING IT FLY

• SMU knocked down a season high 11 three pointers against Texas Tech. The team was 11-33 from behind the arc. The 33 attempts are tied for the second most in program history.
• The Mustangs have made 61 three-pointers this season, while Kyla Deck leads the team with 15 made. Zahra King is shooting 48% from beyond the arc this season.

// GETTING TO THE LINE

• The Mustangs have made getting to the line a point of emphasis recently. The team was 23-of-28 (82%) from the line against Southern Miss. Tyi Skinner (7-8), Zahra King (4-5) and Kyla Deck (4-4) led the way at the stripe.
• Skinner leads SMU, shooting 82% from the line and has made 18 of her 19 attempts.
• SMU got to the line a lot against Grambling and was 28-37 from the stripe in the game. The Mustangs' 28 made free throws are the most since the team made 40 at Memphis during the 2023-24 season.

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• The Mustangs have been attacking the paint this season and are coming off a 50-point performance in the paint against Arkansas. It was the first time the Mustangs had scored 50 points in the paint in a game since the team scored 52 against Air Force in 2023.
• SMU has had seven games scoring 30 or more points this season, as the team recorded 30 points in the paint against Syracuse.