Jan. 21, 2012
Box Score
DAVIDSON, N.C. -
The Samford women's basketball team overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to come from behind for a 73-65 Southern Conference win at Davidson Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena.
Samford trailed Davidson, 34-29 late in the first half, and 35-24 at halftime, but the Bulldogs came back to outscore the Wildcats, 49-30 in the second half to win, 73-65.
"We kind of got off to a slow start and Davidson played really well in the first half, but in the second 20 minutes our players really responded and bowed up," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We played about as tough and as well of a 20 minutes as we've played in maybe a couple of years. I really thought they responded well, given the circumstances."
Samford was led in the game by freshman forward Taylor Reece with a career-high 21 points, making 8-of-13 shots from the floor and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Reece also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists in the win. Reece scored 14 of her 21 points in the second half.
"We got tougher," Reece said of the second half. "We knew what we had to do and we just came out and did it."
Senior guard Ruth Ketcham scored 15 points, while senior guard Paige Anderson contributed 13 points. Junior forward Hannah Dawson scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds.
For Davidson, Laura Murray scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Sophia Aleksandravicius added 12 points for the Wildcats.
The teams went back and forth for the early part of the first half. With Samford leading, 11-9, Davidson went on a 10-0 run to take a 19-11 lead with 10:07 left in the half after a basket by Amanda Ottaway.
Davidson pushed its lead out to as much as 15 in the first half at 34-19 with 3:55 to go before halftime. Samford, however, scored the next five points to cut the lead to 10 at 34-24 with 1:57 to go in the half after a basket by Dawson. A late Davidson free throw made the score 35-24 heading into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 13-1 run to take a 37-36 lead with 16:13 to go after a layup by Reece. Davidson came back to take a four-point lead at 46-42 with 12:19 to go in the game.
With Davidson leading, 50-46, Samford went on a 10-2 run to take a 56-52 lead with 7:30 to go after a pair of free throws by Jazmine Powers. Davidson fought back to tie the score at 59-59 with 3:14 to go. Samford, however, went on an 11-2 run to take a 70-61 lead with 52 seconds to go after a pair of free throws by Anderson.
Davidson closed to within six points late at 71-65, but Samford's Anderson hit two late free throws to make the final score 73-65.
With the win, Samford improves to 11-7 overall and 6-3 in Southern Conference play. Davidson falls to 11-7 overall and 7-2 in league play. The loss was Davidson's first home setback of the season.
As a team, Samford made 52.2 percent of its shots, including 65.2 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs hit 50.0 percent of their three-pointers, including 57.1 percent after halftime. Davidson made 36.7 percent of its shots overall and 46.7 percent from three-point range.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 23, when the Bulldogs play at Appalachian State. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CT) start from Boone, N.C.
