Nov. 26, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Savannah Hill scored 21 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as the Bulldog women's basketball team defeated Alabama State, 71-55, on the first day of the Samford Thanksgiving Classic Friday at the Pete Hanna Center.

In the other opening-day game, South Florida defeated UAB, 59-38. On Saturday, UAB will take on Alabama State at 1 p.m., and Samford will play host to South Florida at 3 p.m.

Samford built a big lead in the first half, but a late comeback by Alabama State cut the lead to just four at halftime. Samford, however, outscored Alabama State, 40-28, in the second half to pull away for the win.

"I was pleased with the way we responded coming out of the locker room," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "What we need to work on is when we get a lead and are playing well we have to have more minutes when we sustain that effort."

Behind Hill for Samford, Emily London scored 17 points and dished out five assists. Ruth Ketcham scored 11 points, while Paige Anderson added eight points. In addition to her 21 points, Hill had five rebounds and five assists in the win.

Alabama State was led by Tanika Jackson with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tamara Waldington scored 10 points, while Millicent Jones and Nikel White added eight points apiece.

Samford grabbed an early 9-4 lead with 15:08 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Ketcham. ASU fought back to cut the lead to one at 9-8 with 13:56 to go in the first half. Samford then went on an 11-2 run to push its lead out to 10 at 20-10 with 9:13 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Hill.

Samford eventually pushed its lead out to 13 at 25-12 with 6:14 left in the half after a three-pointer by Hill. With Samford leading, 31-20, Alabama State closed the half with a 7-0 run to cut the Bulldogs' lead to four at 31-27 heading into halftime.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 16-4 run to push their lead out to 16 at 47-31 following back-to-back three-pointers by London and Hill. Samford pushed its lead out to 17 at 52-35 with 12:20 to go after a pair of free throws by London.

Alabama State fought back to cut the lead to nine at 56-47 with 5:27 to go in the game. However, that was as close as the Lady Hornets could get and Samford pulled away for the 71-55 win.

With the win, Samford improves to 2-2 on the young season. Alabama State falls to 1-3 with the loss.

Samford's game against South Florida on Saturday can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.