Jan. 11, 2007

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Veronica Pike tied a career high with 23 points to lead the Samford women's basketball team to a 68-51 win at Tennessee State Thursday night.

"I was pleased with our toughness," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Veronica Pike played tremendously. She showed how she can play. She stepped it up and gave us 23 points."

Behind Pike for Samford (9-7, 4-3 OVC), Chelsee Insell scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Taryn Towns tied a career high with seven assists to go along with her seven points in the game.

Tennessee State (3-11, 1-5 OVC) was led by Obiageli Okofor with 13 points. Kendra Appling added 11 points for the Lady Tigers.

After Tennessee State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, Samford came back with a 9-2 run to take a 9-8 lead following a three-pointer by Insell with 14:09 to go in the first half. With TSU leading, 11-9, Samford scored six-straight point to take a 15-11 lead with 12:20 to play in the half after a three-pointer by Karmen Smith.

The teams stayed close throughout most of the first half until, with Samford leading 25-24, the Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run to take a 36-24 lead with 35.9 seconds to go after a free throw by Smith. TSU hit a late free throw to give Samford a 36-25 lead going into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead out to 13 early in the second half at 40-27 after a jumper by Pike with 17:43 to play. TSU cut the lead to seven at 42-35 with 14:08 to play after a layup by Jheri Booker. With Samford leading, 44-37, the Bulldogs went on a 16-4 run to push their lead to 19 at 60-41 with 4:43 to play following a three-pointer by Pike. Samford pushed its lead out to as much as 22 points down the stretch as the Bulldogs came away with the 68-51 win.

Samford will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 14, when the Bulldogs play at Tennessee Tech on a game televised live on ESPNU. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off from Cookeville, Tenn.