WALKER COUNTY
PROUD 2020
RAVON JUSTICE
New Heights
Justice has brought new life into the Sam Houston
State women’s basketball team in only two years
STORY & PHOTOS BY JOSH CRISWELL
Ravon Justice had an idea of the direction she’d like the Sam Houston State women’s
basketball program to go when she took over as head coach in 2018, but even she couldn’t
have predicted how quickly they’d get there.
After posting the third-largest turnaround in the country during Justice’s first year at the
helm, the Bearkats proceeded to set a school-record with 14 Southland Conference wins
last season.
However, the head coach isn’t satisfied yet — and she’s eager to see what step the Kats
can take next.
“The excitement comes with, ‘How much more can we grow?’” Justice said. “We’ve
made some strides, but you never want to be comfortable. You don’t want to get stagnant
or overconfident, you want to keep growing. That’s where the excitement comes. What can
we be better at? What areas of the program can and need to grow?”
When Sam Houston State athletics director Bobby Williams began his search for the
program’s 10th head coach following the 2017-18 season, Justice was already at the top of
the list.
The then-Prairie View A&M head coach beat the Bearkats in 2016, planting the seed that
ultimately led her to Huntsville.
“Associate athletics director Chris Thompson and I were sitting behind the bench watching
her, and we knew she could coach,” Williams recalled earlier this year. “Then a couple
years later we had an opportunity to hire her, and I knew right away that’s who I wanted to
target.”
“The excitement comes with, ‘How
much more can we grow? We’ve
made some strides, but you
never want to be comfortable.
You don’t want to get stagnant
or overconfident, you want to
keep growing. That’s where the
excitement comes. What can we
be better at? What areas of the
program can and need to grow?”
Having witnessed Sam Houston State’s
struggles from the opposing bench, Justice
knew that a culture change was in order if
the Bearkats were going to claw their way
out of the Southland cellar. She made it a
priority to emphasize togetherness, something
that’s been reflected by the team’s
ever-growing chemistry since her arrival.
“The biggest challenge has been the
culture,” Justice said when asked about
her greatest challenge upon taking the job.
“When I first got here, it was a lot of individuals
and selfishness — not togetherness.
Now, we’re getting players to buy into the
team aspect.
“Our staff is totally committed to giving
these kids the best college experience possible,
and the administration has been so
supportive. We always talk about one goal,
one culture, and that’s the biggest thing I
want to sustain — because that’s something
this program didn’t have.”
“It just made basketball so much more
fun,” added Sam Houston State guard
Jenniffer Oramas, who was part of the
group that went 4-32 in Southland play in
the two seasons prior to Justice’s arrival.
“We were winning games and competing,
which is something we didn’t do my freshman
and sophomore years.”
26 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING | FALL 2020