Jan. 19, 2006

Box Score

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Sophomore forward Alex Munday scored 23 points to lead the Samford women's basketball team to a 51-49 win at Morehead State Thursday night.

"I am very proud of our team," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They (Morehead State) are a very good team, they are very well-coached. We had people step up in the second half, and it was just a good team effort."

Behind Munday's team-leading total, Tish Pilkerton scored 10 points, all in the second half. Cora Beth Smith added seven points, including a key free throw late to help secure the win.

For Morehead State, Megen Gearhart led the way with 11 points, while LaKrisha Brown added 10 points.

Samford (12-4, 7-2 OVC) jumped on top early, grabbing a 7-2 lead on a basket by Munday with just under 17:00 to go in the first half. Morehead State (10-5, 5-3 OVC) scored the next six points to take an 8-7 lead with 13:57 to go in the half. Samford answered with a 9-0 run to take a 16-8 lead with 6:48 to go before intermission on a layup by Veronica Pike.

MSU came back with a 9-0 run of its own to retake the lead at 17-16 with 1:47 left in the half. After Samford retook the lead at 18-17, Morehead's Tarah Combs hit a late three-pointer to send the Lady Eagles to halftime with a 20-18 lead over Samford.

Samford took the lead early in the second half at 23-22 on a three-pointer by Pilkerton. With the game tied, 29-29, Samford went on a 5-0 run to take a 34-29 lead with 10:19 to go in the game on a jumper by Munday. MSU cut the lead to two at 35-33, but Samford pushed the lead out to seven at 40-33 with 7:59 to go on a three-pointer by Karmen Smith.

Morehead State then went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 42-40 at the 5:18 mark in the game. Samford answered with an 8-0 run to jump back on top, 48-42, with 3:08 to go on a free throw by Pike. Morehead State cut the lead to one at 50-49, but Cora Beth Smith hit a free throw with nine seconds left to give Samford the 51-49 win.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 21, when the Bulldogs play at Eastern Kentucky. The game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Central from Richmond, Ky.