March 7, 2001

Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. - Samford overcame an 11-0 deficit in the first four minutes of the game to defeat Jacksonville State in the opening round of the SunTrust Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament at the UCF Arena Wednesday night. Samford (8-20) advances to face the top-seed Campbell at 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Jacksonville State (9-19) opened the game on an 11-0 run sparked by six quick points by Amanda Tyus who finished the game with a game-high 19 points. Samford answered the run with a 17-6 spurt to tie the game at 17-17 at the 9:04 mark of the opening half. JSU put together an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 25-17. From that point the Samford defense took control of the game.

Samford held JSU to just six points over the next 13:27. The Bulldogs went on a 16-6 run over the final 6:37 of the first half to take a 33-31 halftime lead and a 9-0 run over the first 6:50 of the second half to grab a 42-31 lead.

Sarah Clement was fouled on a three-point shot at the end of the first half. She hit all three free throws to give Samford its first lead of the game. She finished with a team-high 14 points shooting 4-5 from the floor. Cortney Moore scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Aimee Cochran added 10 points.

"We struggled early," said Samford head coach Janet Cone. "But we came together defensively and played unbelievable defense at the start of the second half."

Samford shot 50 percent from the floor while holding Campbell to 31 percent shooting. The Bulldogs out rebounded the Lady Gamecocks 40-36. What kept the game close was that Samford committed 29 turnovers and went just 4-11 from the free throw line in the second half. "It is important that we keep our composure," said Cone. "We were a little sloppy tonight, against Campbell we will have to limit our turnovers."

The Bulldogs now face Campbell, the defending conference champions. The Lady Camels defeated Samford both times during the regular season.