Feb. 3, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team held an eight-point halftime lead, but couldn't hold it, as the Bulldogs fell to conference-leading Tennessee Tech, 58-51, Thursday night at Seibert Hall.

"I thought we did a poor job of executing down low when they made their run in the second half, which we knew they would, they are a good team," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We had some pretty good looks down the stretch that just didn't go in. We also had some careless turnovers down the stretch.

"When you are playing one of the best teams in the league, you have to do it for 40 minutes," Morris said. "We probably did it for about 35 minutes, and that is not good enough. One of the things we have to get better at is passing the ball in the post and defending without fouling, and I take full responsibility for that."

Samford (10-10, 3-6 OVC) was led by Sarah Clement with 13 points and six rebounds. Cora Beth Smith scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, and LaBrena Friend led the team in rebounding with eight.

For Tennessee Tech (15-5, 8-1 OVC), Emily Christian led the way with 21 points, and Kendall Cavin scored 18 points for the Golden Eaglettes.

Tennessee Tech jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first five points of the game. The Golden Eaglettes extended their lead to six at 10-4 and 12-6, but a 9-0 Samford run gave the Bulldogs a 15-12 lead with 9:58 to go in the half on a three-pointer by Tish Pilkerton.

Samford pushed its lead to 10 at 27-17 with 4:23 left in the opening period on a free throw by Veronica Pike. Tech cut the lead to six at 27-21, but a late jumper by Smith gave Samford a 29-21 lead at halftime.

Tennessee Tech opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take a 34-31 lead with 13:04 to go in the game. The Golden Eaglettes pushed the lead to five at 38-33, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to one at 40-39 with 9:56 left in the game.

With Tech leading, 43-42, the Golden Eaglettes went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to seven at 49-42 with 5:16 to go in the contest. Samford cut the lead to three at 49-46, but the Bulldogs could get no closer as Tennessee Tech pulled out the 58-51 win.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, February 5, when the Bulldogs play host to Austin Peay. The game is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., and can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samfordsports.com.