Dec. 1, 2001

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Samford Bulldogs scored a season-high 75 points and shot 49 percent from the floor but committed a school-record 37 turnovers in an 87-75 loss in their Atlantic Sun opener at Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon.

Giovanni Price scored a career-high 24 points on 10-18 shooting. Price has enjoyed her two trips to Florida Atlantic. Her previous career-high was 20 points last season in Boca Raton. Clarissa Clark scored 11 points and five Bulldogs had eight points each. Noot Pittman grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs who dropped to 1-3 on the season and 0-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

"You are not going to win if you don't take care of the ball," said Samford head coach Janet Cone. "We shot the ball well and out-rebounded them, but we have struggled with turnovers in three of our first four games."

Florida Atlantic (1-3, 1-0 A-Sun) placed five players in double-figures led by Crystal Boyland with 22 points. Janka Deckerova had 17 points, Tamica Pierce had 15 points, and Julie Goad and Kristy Halvorsen had 11 and 10 points respectively. The Owls were 12-18 (66 percent) from the free-throw line taking advantage of 20 Samford fouls. The Owls committed only 12 fouls in the game and only four in the first half.

Samford led the game early taking as much as a six point lead 11-5 at the 17:27 mark and tied the game at 34 with 5:08 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs would fail to score the remainder of the half as FAU went on a 7-0 run to take a 41-34 halftime lead. Boyland scored six points of her 14 first half points in the final three minutes of the half.

Florida Atlantic began the second half with a 14-4 run to take its largest lead at 55-38 at the 15:23 point. Samford responded immediately with a 15-2 run finished off by a three-pointer by Jennifer East to make the score 57-53 with 11:40 to go. The Bulldogs would get as close as five points two more times in the second half but turnovers kept them from getting any closer.

"I thought we fought hard the entire game," said Cone. "We battled back to four and five points a couple of times in the second half but we just did not take care of the ball."

Samford will travel to Orlando, Fla., on Monday to face UCF in another Atlantic Sun battle at 6:00 p.m. CT.