Jan. 30, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team will play at Tennessee State Thursday night in an Ohio Valley Conference contest at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Samford enters the game with a record of 15-6 overall and 8-3 in OVC play after a 64-46 win over Austin Peay on Saturday. TSU is currently 9-11 overall and 6-5 in league play after a 69-56 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

In Saturday's win over Austin Peay, Chika Okoli posted her first career double-double. She scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the win. Monica Maxwell scored 12 points for Samford. Alex Munday followed with 11 points, while Emily London added 10. Taryn Towns set a career-high with nine assists.

For the season, London is leading the team in scoring with an average of 12.1 points per game. Fellow freshman Savannah Hill is second in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game.

Hill leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game. Maxwell is second on the team in rebounding with an average of 4.1 boards per contest.

Towns is the team leader in assists, with an average of 3.8 assists per game. London ranks second in assists, dishing out 2.5 assists per game.

Samford players rank in the top five in the OVC in several statistical categories. London ranks fourth in three-point field goal percentage (47.0%), fifth in free throw percentage (85.5%) and fifth in three-point field goals made (1.86 pg.). Towns ranks second in the league in assist-turnover ratio (2.13).

Samford and Tennessee State are meeting for the 10th time with Samford holding an 8-1 advantage in the series. Earlier this season, Samford defeated Tennessee State, 77-57 in Birmingham.

Thursday's game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/. The game can also be viewed on the internet at www.ovcsports.tv.