Dec. 19, 2002

Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Kristal Hood scored 13 second half points and UNC-Asheville held off a late Samford rally to defeat the Bulldogs 62-56 at the Justice Center. Samford fell to 2-6 while UNCA improved to 3-5.

Lindsey Harris scored 14 points to lead Samford while Noot Pittman and Chelsee Insell each added 12 points. UNCA had four players finish in double figures. Tonisha Jackson scored 17 points while Lindsey Roche added 14 points and Shantell Waiters scored 11 points. UNCA shot 67 percent from the field in the second half.

Samford trailed 58-56 with 36 seconds left, but the Bulldogs missed a jumper inside the lane. Shantell Waiters made one of two free throws to give UNCA a 59-56 lead with 10 seconds remaining. Cora Beth Smith got the ball up the court but lost the handle on the ball when she slipped. Hood stole the ball and was fouled. Hood and Lindsey Roche made 3-of-4 free throws for the final margin.

UNCA overcame its halftime deficit with hot shooting in thesecond half. Hood capped off a 10-7 run with layup to tie the game 35-35 with 15:24 left. UNCA never trailed the rest of the way.

Samford led 28-23 at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 45 percentin the first half while UNCA shot 38 percent.

Samford broke open a 5-5 tie with a 7-0 run to take a 12-5 lead with 10:14 left in the first half. Pittman's layup gave the Bulldogs an 18-9 lead with 6:11 left in the half. UNCA went on a 7-4 run to pull within 22-19 with 3:58 left before halftime. UNCA cut into the Bulldog with 30 secondsleft to make it 26-23, but Pittman tipped in a missed shot to give Samford the 28-23 halftime lead.