Jan. 18, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team had four players score in double figures on its way to an 80-65 Southern Conference win over Western Carolina Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Bulldogs raced out to a big lead in the first half, taking a 49-28 lead into halftime. Samford shot an impressive 63.0 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from three-point range in the first half. The Bulldogs made 12-of-18 three-point attempts in the opening half as well.

"That was definitely impressive," Samford head coach Mike Morris said of his team's first-half performance. "I thought our defense really picked up in the first half. I thought we had some really good shots and really good threes. We had 12 threes by six different players. They changed some things up with their defense, but we stayed focused and were very unselfish tonight."

For the game, Samford was led in scoring by Emily London with 21 points. London has now scored over 20 points in four-straight games. Savannah Hill had 13 points and nine rebounds. Hannah Dawson chipped in 11 points, while Monica Maxwell added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

As a team, Samford dished out 20 assists, tying a season high for the Bulldogs, and the team made 59.1 percent of its three-pointers. The Bulldogs committed just eight turnovers, while forcing Western Carolina into 13 turnovers.

Western Carolina was led by Kaila'Shea Menendez with 16 points. Emily Clarke and Kendra Carroll added nine points each for the Catamounts.

In the first half, the teams traded baskets early, until with Samford leading, 6-5, the Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run to push its lead out to 18-9 with 12:57 to go in the first half after a layup by Hill.

With Samford leading, 23-18, the Bulldogs went on a 14-4 run to increase its lead to 15 points at 37-22 with 5:54 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Paige Anderson. After a WCU basket cut the lead to 37-24, Samford went on a 9-2 run to make the score 49-26 with 1:04 left in the half. Samford took a 49-28 lead into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead back out to 23 early in the second half at 51-28 after a layup by Hill. WCU would not get closer than 17 points until, with Samford leading 66-46, the Catamounts went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 11 at 70-59 with 3:12 to go after a layup by Clarke.

Samford answered with a 10-4 run to push its lead back out to 17 at 80-63 with 1:12 to go after a free throw by Anderson. Two late free throws by WCU's Brittany Ferguson made the final score 80-65.

With the win, Samford improves to 13-6 overall and 7-3 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina drops to 3-15 overall and 2-7 in league play.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when the Bulldogs travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on the Wofford Terriers. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (CT) start.