March 8, 2009

Box Score

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Western Carolina women's basketball team used a 15-2 run early in the second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit and eliminate Samford from the Southern Conference Tournament, 66-53 in the tournament semifinals Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena.

"I thought the key part of the game was the start of the second half," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "The first five or six minutes, they took the lead and I thought our energy went down and I thought their energy went up. That cost us and was a big point in the game."

Samford wraps up its season with a record of 22-7. The Bulldogs were 16-4 in SoCon play, the best conference record in program history. Western Carolina (20-11) advances to the tournament finals where the Lady Catamounts will take on the College of Charleston Monday at 2 p.m. (CT).

Western Carolina's Brooke Johnson led all scorers with 25 points. Kristen Feemster, Emily Clarke and Kendra Eaton added eight points apiece for WCU.

Samford was led in scoring by senior forward Chika Okoli with 16 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the floor. Sophomore forward Savannah Hill scored 12 points, and junior guard Monica Maxwell added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

The game was tight throughout the first half. Western Carolina grabbed an early three-point lead at 5-2, but Samford went on a 9-2 run to take an 11-7 lead with 13:21 to go in the first half after a basket by J'Quita Babineaux. Western Carolina fought back to tie the score at 11-11 with 12:09 to go in the half.

Samford quickly regained the lead at 14-11 after a free throw by Emily London and a basket by Babineaux. Samford held the lead for the remainder of the first half. Samford's largest lead of the half was seven points at 25-18, and the Bulldogs took a 29-25 lead into halftime.

With Samford leading, 31-27 early in the second half, WCU went on a 15-2 run to take a 42-33 lead with 13:49 to go after a layup by Feemster. The Lady Catamounts pushed their lead out to 11 at 46-35 with 12:47 to go in the game.

Samford answered with a 9-2 run to cut the WCU lead to four at 48-44 with 10:00 to go after a layup by London. With Samford trailing, 52-46, WCU went on a 10-2 run to push its lead to 14 at 62-48 with 2:39 to go in the game. Samford could get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way, as WCU came away with the 66-53 win.