Jan. 9, 2010

Box Score

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson's Ashley Lax hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Wildcat women's basketball team to a 78-77 Southern Conference win over Samford Saturday night at Belk Arena.

"Davidson is a very good team," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They're well-coached and they do a lot of good things. This is a very good basketball league, we see that day-in and day-out. I'm very proud of our girls and the way they competed. We had great leadership from our girls during this game."

Despite the loss, Samford junior guard Emily London set a school record with 35 points in the game. London's total eclipses the previous record of 34 set by Alex Munday on Jan. 12, 2006 against Tennessee State.

London made 11-of-19 field goals, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. She also made all seven of her free-throw attempts. In addition to her impressive scoring performance, London grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists.

Behind London for Samford, junior forward Savannah Hill scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman forward Hannah Dawson added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

For Davidson, Alex Thompson scored 22 points. Kristen Johnsen had 17 points and nine rebounds. Lax scored 13 points and Julia Paquette added 11 points and eight rebounds.

With Samford leading, 69-67 with less than a minute to go in the second half, Davidson's Johnsen hit a layup with six seconds remaining to force overtime. In the overtime, Samford took an early 71-69 lead on a layup by Maxwell with 4:26 to go. Paquette tied the game with a layup with 3:29 to go in the extra period.

Samford's Hill hit a jumper to give the Bulldogs a 73-71 lead with 3:13 to go in the overtime. Davidson answered when Paquette hit a jumper with 1:44 to go. A pair of free throws by Megan Wilderotter with 1:28 to go gave Samford a 75-73 lead.

Davidson's Thompson tied the game at 75-75 with a layup with 1:18 to go. London hit two free throws to give Samford a 77-75 lead with 1:03 to go setting the stage for Lax's game-winning shot.

The teams traded baskets early in the first half. With the score tied, 6-6, Samford went on a 10-2 run to take a 16-8 lead with 14:38 to go in the half after a jumper by London. Davidson responded with a 16-3 run to take a 24-19 lead with 4:59 to go in the first half.

Samford came back with a 9-0 run to take the lead back at 28-24 with 1:42 to go in the opening period after a three-pointer by London. Samford took a 31-27 lead into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead to seven at 34-27 early in the second half. With Samford leading, 42-35, Davidson went on a 14-0 run to take a 49-42 lead with 12:27 to go in the second half.

Samford came back with an 11-2 run to retake the lead at 53-51 with 8:37 to go after a three-pointer by London. Davidson scored the next eight points to take a 59-53 lead with 7:37 to go. During the Wildcats' run Samford head coach Mike Morris received a second technical foul and was ejected from the game.

Samford answered with an 8-2 run to tie the score at 61-61 with 4:28 to go after a three-pointer by London. Samford took a 66-62 lead with 2:42 left on a three-pointer by Dawson. Davidson then scored the next five points to take a 67-66 lead with 1:16 to go. A three-pointer by London gave Samford a 69-67 lead before Johnsen's layup forced overtime.

In the game, there were 11 ties and the lead changed hands 12 times. Samford shot 43.9 percent, including 40.0 percent from three-point range. Davidson shot 41.7 percent overall, and 47.4 percent from three-point range.

With the loss, Samford drops to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play. Davidson remains in first place in the league with a 6-1 conference record. The Wildcats are now 8-7 overall.

Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 11, when the Bulldogs travel to Boone, N.C., to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers. According to SoCon rules, Morris will not be allowed to coach in Monday's game due to his ejection from Saturday night's game. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start, and it can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.