Jan. 19, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford senior forward Savannah Hill scored 19 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out five assists in the Bulldog women's basketball team's 61-49 Southern Conference win over Chattanooga Wednesday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.

"I was very pleased with this effort," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I thought it was a great team effort. From a defensive standpoint, to hold them to 49 points and 32 percent shooting was really good. I was pleased with our team defense."

Samford shot 45.3 percent as a team, including a 45.5-percent effort from three-point range. The Bulldogs held Chattanooga to 32.3 percent overall and just 14.8 percent from beyond the arc.

"We helped on defense, we were there for each other, we got every loose ball and all of the hustle plays," Morris said. "We really were in the right mindset from a defensive standpoint. Offensively, we shot the ball well down the stretch and we saw the right things."

Behind Hill for Samford, senior guard Emily London had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Hannah Dawson scored 10 points, while junior guard Ruth Ketcham added eight points for the Bulldogs.

For Chattanooga, Whitney Hood led the way with 14 points and six rebounds. Kayla Christopher had 14 points and seven assists for the Lady Mocs.

The teams traded baskets early in the first half until, with Samford leading, 7-5, the Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-7 lead with 9:53 to go in the first half after a layup by Jazmine Powers. Chattanooga fought back to cut the Samford lead to three at 14-11 with 8:16 to go in the first half.

Samford then went on a 15-4 run to take a 29-15 lead with 4:55 to go in the opening half after a three-pointer by Powers. The Lady Mocs then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to six at 29-23 with 1:26 to go before halftime. A late layup by London gave Samford a 31-23 lead heading into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead out to 14 early in the second half at 41-27 with 17:42 to go in the game after a three-pointer by Hill. Chattanooga scored the next four points to cut the lead to 10 points at 41-31 with 16:34 left in the contest.

Samford then went on an 8-2 run to push its lead out to 16 points at 49-33 with 8:59 left in the game after a layup by Hill. Chattanooga fought back to cut the lead to nine at 51-42 with 3:24 to go, but the Lady Mocs could get no closer as Samford came away with the 12-point win, 61-49.

With the win, Samford improves to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in SoCon play. Chattanooga drops to 8-11 overall and 5-5 in league play.

Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 24, when the Bulldogs play host to Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.