Dec. 5, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford junior guard Emily London scored 20 points, making 5-of-7 three-point attempts, to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 71-58 Southern Conference win over Wofford Saturday at the Pete Hanna Center.

"I was very pleased with our team and with their effort," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "This was a good, team effort. I thought we shared the ball well, having 13 assists and only 10 turnovers. Our goal was to force 18 turnovers and we forced 20. It was a good response (after Thursday's loss). I thought we would have a good response because we have good kids who have character."

With the win, Samford improves to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in SoCon play. Wofford drops to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Behind London for Samford, freshman forward Hannah Dawson scored 13 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Junior forward Savannah Hill scored 12 points for the Bulldogs.

For Wofford, Mahagony Williams and Natalie Gramblin scored 13 points each. Rachel Brittenham added 11 points for the Terriers. Williams also led the team in rebounding with seven.

As a team, Samford shot 34.4 percent, while Wofford shot 44.0 percent. Wofford out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 37-35. Samford made 18-of-20 free-throw attempts in the game.

Samford jumped out to an early 7-4 lead with 12:27 to go in the first half after a jumper by Jazmine Powers. Wofford came back with a 9-3 run to take a 13-10 lead with 10:03 to go after a layup by Williams.

Samford answered with an 11-2 run to take a 21-15 lead with 4:57 left in the half after a jumper by Hill. Wofford fought back to tie the score at 25-25 with 1:33 to go in the opening period after a three-point play by Brittenham. Samford scored the final eight points of the half to take a 33-25 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 12 at 47-35 with 14:55 to go after a three-point play by London. With Samford leading 49-41, the Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run to push their lead to 62-41 with 6:54 to go after a pair of free throws by Dawson.

With Samford leading, 66-49, Wofford went on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to 10 at 67-57 with 53 seconds to go after a three-pointer by Brittenham. Wofford, however, could get no closer as Samford came away with the 71-58 win.

Samford will take the next week off from competition due to finals and the Bulldogs will return to action on Monday, Dec. 14, when they play at Mississippi State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from Starkville, Miss.