Dec. 10, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team earned a 61-55 non-conference win over former OVC rival Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.

"I thought that was kind of a growing experience for us," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We had some success early and built a lead. But as you'd expect with a good team like Tennessee Tech, they made a run to get back into the game, but I was pleased with the way we responded."

Samford was led in the game by Paige Anderson with 17 points and five rebounds. Anderson was 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the win. Hannah Dawson scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Ruth Ketcham scored 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a career-high seven assists.

For Tennessee Tech, Tacarra Hayes had 27 points and eight rebounds. Briana Jordan scored 14 points for the Golden Eagles.

The teams traded baskets early in the first half. Samford built an 11-6 lead with 12:31 to go in the first half after a jumper by Kendall Schwantz. With Samford leading, 17-11, the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to push their lead to 27-11 with 5:00 to go in the half after a free throw by Schwantz.

Samford led by as much as 17 points in the first half at 30-13 with 2:12 left in the half. The Bulldogs took a 34-19 lead into halftime.

Tennessee Tech opened the second half with an 11-2 run to cut the Samford lead to six at 36-30 with 16:44 to go in the game after a three-pointer by Hayes. Samford answered with a 7-0 run to push its lead back out to 13 at 43-30 with 13:29 left after a three-pointer by Anderson.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead back out to 15 at 47-32 with 11:19 left after two free throws by Ketcham. With Samford leading, 50-38, the Golden Eagles went on a 12-3 run to cut the Bulldogs' lead to three at 53-50 with 2:23 left in the game after a three-pointer by Kellie Cook.

Samford scored six of the next eight points to push its lead back out to seven at 59-52 with 27 seconds left after two free throws by Anderson. Samford came away with the six-point win, 61-55.

As a team, Samford shot 40.8 percent overall, including a 35.7 percent effort from three-point range. Tennessee Tech made 33.3 percent of its shots and 20.0 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. Samford out-rebounded Tennessee Tech, 40-35.

With the win, Samford improves to 5-4 on the season. Tennessee Tech drops to 3-7 with the loss.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Bulldogs play host to Southern Conference foe Western Carolina. The game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.