Dec. 17, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team overcame a 14-point second half deficit to earn a 64-61, Southern Conference win in overtime over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.

"That is a credit to our team and to the character of our players," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We could've quit on two or three different occasions. It just looked like it wasn't going to be our night, but they kept fighting. I thought Jazmine Powers' defensive energy really flipped the game. I am very proud of our team in terms of not quitting and finding a way to win the basketball game."

With Samford trailing, 61-59 late in the overtime period, freshman Taylor Reece hit a three-pointer to give Samford the lead for good at 62-61 with 30 seconds to play. Paige Anderson added two late free throws to seal the Samford win at 64-61. Samford scored the final seven points of the game to earn the come-from-behind win.

In the win, Samford was led by Anderson with 19 points and five rebounds. Fellow senior Ruth Ketcham scored 18 points, while senior Jazmine Powers had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win.

For Western Carolina, Janae' McKinney had 17 points and nine rebounds. Kaila'Shea Menendez also scored 17 points for the Catamounts. Caitlin Hollifield added 13 points and nine rebounds for WCU.

In the first half, Samford grabbed an early 4-2 lead with 17:08 to go in the first half after a jumper by Anderson. With Samford leading, 6-5, Western Carolina went on a 12-2 run to take a 17-8 lead with 10:04 left in the opening period following a layup by McKinney.

The Catamounts pushed their lead out to 13 at 28-15 with 2:30 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Makensey Campbell. The Catamounts took a 10-point lead into halftime at 30-20.

In the second half, Western Carolina pushed its lead out to 14 at 40-26 with 12:25 to go after a jumper by Hollifield. With WCU holding a 42-28 lead, Samford went on a 13-2 run to cut the Catamounts' lead to three at 44-41 with 5:58 to go after a layup by Powers.

Samford took its first lead of the second half at 49-48 with 2:52 left in the half after a layup by Powers. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of regulation. With Samford trailing, 53-51, Ketcham made two free throws with 21 seconds to go, tying the game at 53-53 and eventually forcing overtime.

In the overtime, Samford took the early lead at 55-53 on a layup by Anderson. WCU scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 61-57 lead with 1:58 to go after a free throw by Kristen Lyon. A layup by Ketcham with 1:33 left cut the WCU lead to 61-59, setting the stage for Reece's eventual game-winning shot.

For the game, Samford made 46.2 percent of its shots from the floor, including 23.8 percent from three-point range. Western Carolina shot 34.9 percent overall and 46.2 percent from three-point range.

With the win, Samford improves to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina drops to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon.

Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 21, when the Bulldogs play at seventh-ranked Kentucky. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Lexington, Ky.