Dec. 3, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Furman's Lee Stephens scored 22 points to lead the Paladin women's basketball team to a 56-52 Southern Conference win at Samford Thursday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford falls to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in SoCon play with the loss. Furman is now 2-6 overall and 1-1 in league play.

"You have to give all the credit to Furman," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They did a great job with everything. Their players played hard, and they won the game, that is the bottom line."

Following Stephens for Furman, Lakyn Ledford scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Kaitlin Murphy added seven points for the Paladins.

For Samford, Emily London scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs in both categories. Megan Wilderotter scored 11 points for Samford and Savannah Hill added eight points.

As a team, Furman hit 55.6 percent of its three-pointers, compared to 31.3 percent for Samford. Overall, Samford shot 41.3 percent, while Furman shot 43.2 percent. The Paladins out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 30-26.

Samford led early in the first half, but Furman took a 7-4 lead on a three-pointer by Stephens with 13:29 to go in the opening half. Samford fought back to take the lead at 12-10 with 8:04 to go in the half after a layup by Wilderotter.

Furman scored the next five points to regain the lead at 15-12 with 6:12 to go after a layup by Ledford. Samford came back to take the lead late in the half at 20-19 with 1:40 to go after a three-pointer by London. Samford took a 22-21 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to five at 32-27 with 16:17 to go in the game after a pair of free throws by London. Furman then went on a 13-0 run to take a 40-32 lead with 10:35 to go following a jumper by Ayanna Randolph.

The Paladins pushed their lead out to 14 at 48-34 with 7:19 to go after a layup by Kendra Berry. With Furman leading, 51-39, Samford went on a 10-2 run to cut the Paladins' lead to four at 53-49 with 1:45 to go after a layup by Wilderotter.

After a free throw by Randolph gave Furman a five-point advantage, Samford's Hill hit a layup to cut the lead to three at 54-51 with 29 seconds to go. Furman's Kali Holtfretter then hit two free throws to make the score 56-51 with 28 seconds to go. A free throw by Hill with 14 seconds to go made the final score 56-52.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 5, when the Bulldogs play host to the Wofford Terriers. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.