Box Score http://www.sidearmstats.com/samford/wbball/scoreboard.aspxBIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford women's basketball team used a strong defensive performance to take a 49-19 win over Alabama State on the first day of the Samford Thanksgiving Classic Friday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford held Alabama State to just 13.3 percent shooting, and the 19 points allowed is a new Samford record for fewest point allowed in a game. The Lady Hornets scored just four points in the first half, which was just one point shy of a national record.
 
“I was very pleased with our defensive effort,” Samford head coach Mike Morris said. “This was just good team defense, and that's a credit to our players. Not everybody wants to play defense, and that is the type of players they are, they are unselfish.”
 
Samford was led in the game by senior guard Jazmine Martin with 14 points. Junior guard Shelby Campbell and sophomore forward Taylor Reece added eight points each. Campbell also grabbed five rebounds, and Reece dished out four assists.
 
Senior forward Hannah Dawson added five points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Freshman Lydia McGee scored four points, while fellow freshmen Ashli Mayes and Rebecca Webster contributed three points each. Junior Christy Robinson and redshirt freshman Keke Fletcher added two points each.
 
For Alabama State, Jasmine Peeples led the way with seven points. Danielle Gazaway scored five points, while Ashley Jones and Nakyia Smith added three points each for the Lady Hornets.
 
Samford started the first half strong, scoring the first nine points of the contest to take a 9-0 lead with 13:30 left in the first half after a free throw by Dawson. After a basket by Alabama State cut the lead to 9-2 with 10:30 left, Samford went on another 11-0 run to push its lead to 20-2 with 3:38 left in the first half after a jumper by Martin.
 
The Bulldogs took a 23-4 lead into halftime. In the first half, Samford limited Alabama State to just 9.1 percent (2-of-22) shooting.
 
Samford opened the second half on a 16-2 run to push its lead out to 33 points at 39-6 with 9:17 left in the game after a three-pointer by Martin.
 
Alabama State fought back to cut the lead to 28 at 39-11 with 6:32 left. The Lady Hornets, however, could get no closer than 27 points the rest of the way, as Samford came away with the 49-19 win.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 2-1 on the season. Alabama State drops to 0-2 with the loss.
 
In the early game Friday afternoon, UAB defeated Tennessee State by a score of 68-60.
 
The Samford Thanksgiving Classic will conclude with two more games Saturday afternoon. Alabama State will take on UAB at 1 p.m., followed by Samford taking on Tennessee State at 3 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The Samford-Tennessee State game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can follow both of Saturday's games via live stats at the following link: LIVE STATS.