Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Samford women's basketball team outscored Western Carolina by 21 points in the second half on its way to a 69-41 Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon at the Ramsey Center.

Samford shot 52.1 percent from the floor, including a 60.9 percent effort in the second half. The Bulldogs held the Lady Catamounts to just 26.3 percent shooting for the game. Samford placed four players in double figures in the win.

"I thought it was a tremendous effort defensively to hold them to 41 points and 26 percent on their floor," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "That gave us a chance to win the game. And then, we had a balanced attack, with four players in double figures."

Samford was led by Emily London with 17 points and seven rebounds. Chika Okoli and Savannah Hill had 14 points each, while Monica Maxwell added 12 points for the Bulldogs.

Western Carolina was led by Kristen Feemster with seven points. Emily Clarke added six points for the Lady Catamounts.

The teams traded baskets for the first part of the first half until, with WCU leading, 12-10, Samford went on a 12-2 run to take a 22-14 lead with 7:07 to go in the first half after a layup by Maxwell. WCU cut the lead to five at 22-17 following a three-pointer by Clarke.

Samford scored the next five points to push its lead out to 10 at 27-17 with 1:54 to go in the half after a basket by Hill. A late three-pointer by WCU's Kendra Carroll cut Samford's lead to 27-20 heading into halftime.

In the second half, with Samford leading, 36-24, the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run to push their lead to 22 at 48-26 with 10:17 to go in the game after a jumper by London. After WCU cut the Samford lead to 18 at 48-30, Samford went on an 11-3 run to make the score 59-33 with 5:02 to go after a pair of free throws by London.

Samford pushed its lead out to 30 at 69-39 with 1:46 to go after two free throws by Hill. A late Western basket made the final score 69-41.

The win was Samford's sixth-straight conference victory, and fifth-straight win overall. The Bulldogs, picked fourth in the preseason SoCon polls, improve to 11-3 overall and 6-1 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina, picked second in the league's preseason polls, drops to 8-7 overall and 4-3 in SoCon play.

Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 14, when the Bulldogs travel to Greenville, S.C., to take on the Furman Paladins.