Feb. 9, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford sophomore guard Emily London scored 21 points to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 55-47 Southern Conference win over Georgia Southern Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.

Defensively, Samford limited Georgia Southern to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, including 28.6 percent from three-point range.

"It was definitely not a pretty game of basketball," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "But I give credit to our players, defensively, holding them to 47 points, which was the difference in the game."

Behind London for Samford, Savannah Hill scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Chika Okoli added eight points for the Bulldogs. Megan Wilderotter dished out six assists for Samford.

Georgia Southern was led by Jessica Geiger with 12 points. Jamie Navarro added 11 points for the Lady Eagles. GSU's Brittney Nelson led all rebounders with nine in the game.

Georgia Southern jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as Samford missed its first 10 shots in the game. Samford, however, answered with a 16-2 run to take a 16-9 lead with 10:21 to go in the first half after a three-point play by Monica Maxwell.

Georgia Southern fought back to retake the lead at 20-18 with 2:21 to go in the opening half after a pair of free throws by Ashley Melson. Samford then closed the half with a 9-0 run to take a 27-20 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 11 at 33-22 with 17:28 to go in the game after a pair of free throws by London. GSU cut the lead to eight at 35-27 with 13:46 to go after a three-point play by Geiger.

Samford came back with a 9-3 run to push its lead out to 14 at 44-30 with 9:30 to go after a layup by Wilderotter. Georgia Southern answered with a 12-3 run to cut the lead to five at 47-42 with 4:56 to go after a three-pointer by Navarro.

Georgia Southern would cut the Samford lead to three at 50-47 with 1:04 to play, but Samford scored the last five points of the game to come away with the 55-47 win.

Samford improves to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in SoCon play with the win. The Bulldogs are currently in second place in the league standings, just one game behind Chattanooga. Georgia Southern drops to 14-10 overall and 9-6 in league play with the loss.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, when the Bulldogs play at Appalachian State. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Boone, N.C.