Nov. 30, 2009
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford women's basketball team opened Southern Conference play with a 74-52 win over defending conference champion and preseason favorite Chattanooga Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
"That was as good a 40 minutes as we have played probably since I've been head coach," Samford coach Mike Morris, who is in his eighth season as head coach, said. "It was a great effort, and we beat a very good team. We shot the ball well, but I thought the effort on both ends of the floor was the biggest thing. I was really pleased with the way we responded against a very good team."
Samford senior guard Monica Maxwell scored a career-high 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Bulldogs in the win. Emily London scored 12 points, while Savannah Hill added 11 points and five assists. Hannah Dawson shared the team lead in rebounding with Maxwell, grabbing seven boards to go along with her seven points.
For Chattanooga, 2009 SoCon Player of the Year Shanara Hollinquest led the way with 17 points. Erin Helton followed Hollinquest with seven points and Michelle Davis added six points for the Lady Mocs.
The win was just the second in nine tries for Samford over Chattanooga. The Bulldogs' only other win over the Lady Mocs came on Jan. 20, 1999, a 77-59 Samford win in Birmingham.
Samford shot 51.0 percent from the floor, including a 45.5 percent effort from three-point range. The Bulldogs held Chattanooga to just 30.5 percent overall and 22.2 percent from three-point range. Samford had 33 rebounds, while Chattanooga grabbed 34 boards.
The game was tight through most of the first half. With Samford leading, 9-8, the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to push its lead to 17-10 with 12:24 to go in the first half after a layup by Maxwell. Chattanooga scored eight of the next 10 points to cut the lead back to one at 19-18 with 9:40 to go in the half.
Samford then went on an 8-0 run to make the score 27-18 with 5:37 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Jazmine Powers. Samford pushed its lead out to 12 at 36-24 with 1:53 to go after a three-pointer by Maxwell. After a layup by Hollinquest cut the lead to 10, Samford scored the final four points of the half to take a 40-26 lead into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 13-4 run to push its lead out to 23 at 53-30 with 15:13 to go in the game after a three-pointer by London. Samford led by as much as 24 in the second half at 58-34 with 13:42 to go.
Chattanooga fought back to cut the lead to 16 at 62-46 with 8:21 to go in the game. The Lady Mocs, however could get no closer as Samford came away with the 74-52 win.
Samford improves to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play with the win. Chattanooga falls to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Samford will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 3, when the Bulldogs play host to the Furman Paladins. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from the Pete Hanna Center, and the game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
