Feb. 22, 2001

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Aimee Cochran scored 17 points, Jennifer Lutrell added 16 points and the Bulldogs drained a season-high 10 three-pointers to defeat Mercer 61-52 in Trans America Athletic Conference women's basketball at Seibert Hall Thursday night.

Mercer's (5-19, 2-10 TAAC) Tracy Henry scored the game's first basket to give the Bears the early lead. Cochran answered with a three-point shot and Samford never trailed again. The Bulldogs (6-18, 5-10 TAAC) would go on a 19-6 run over the first ten minutes and take a commanding 38-18 lead into halftime by hitting on eight of 14 three-pointers for 57 percent.

"We played a great first half," said Samford coach Janet Cone. "We still haven't put a full 40 minutes together this season, but I'll take the win. Aimee and Jen played really well and I though Kelli Moore shot the ball with a lot of confidence tonight."

Samford's first half explosion was keyed by its best shooting of the season as the Bulldogs shot 48 percent in the first half. The Bulldog defense forced 10 Mercer turnovers and held the Bears to 27 percent shooting. Giovanni Price scored 10 points in the game for Samford and Cortney Moore grabbed the 700th rebound of her career.

The second half was a totally different story. The Bulldogs only hit 2-12 from three-point range and 22 percent from the floor. Mercer Shot 40 percent in the second half but never got closer than nine points. Jwanda Roberson led the Bears with 15 points while Henry had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak and defeated the Bears for the fifth-straight time. Samford will return to action on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day against Troy State at 2 p.m.