Box Score STATESBORO, Ga.—Georgia Southern's Meredyth Frye hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds to go to lift the Eagle women's basketball team to a 52-51 win over Samford in Southern Conference action Saturday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 12-13 overall and 9-7 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern improves to 5-19 overall and 4-11 in league play.
 
“Defensively, I thought we were okay, but we fouled them too much,” Samford head coach Mike Morris said. “Offensively, we had 20 turnovers and we didn't finish around the goal. This was really disappointing, because this was one we needed to get.”
 
As a team, Samford shot 42.5 percent overall and 42.1 percent from three-point range. Georgia Southern made 29.2 percent of its shots overall and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. Samford made all nine of its free-throw attempts, while GSU was 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. Samford out-rebounded Georgia Southern, 30-27.
 
Samford was led in scoring by senior Jazmine Martin with 19 points. Fellow senior Hannah Dawson had 13 points, while freshman Krista Stricklin grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
 
Georgia Southern was led by Frye with 17 points. Anna Claire Knight added 10 points for the Eagles.
 
In the first half, Georgia Southern got off to a fast start, taking an early 5-0 lead with 17:23 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Frye. After a three-point play by Martin cut the GSU lead to 5-3, the Eagles scored the next five points to push their lead out to 10-3 with 15:05 to go in the first half after a three-point play by Alexis Sams.
 
Samford scored the next six points to cut the GSU lead to 10-9 with 11:58 left in the half after a three-pointer by Ashli Mayes. With Samford trailing, 15-13, GSU scored the next five points to take a 20-13 lead with 8:42 left in the half after two free throws by Knight.
 
With Samford trailing, 23-15, the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 25-25 with 4:23 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Dawson. After GSU took the lead back at 27-25, Samford's Martin hit a layup with 28 seconds to go in the first half to tie the score at 27-27 heading into halftime.
 
After a free throw by Knight gave GSU a brief lead early in the second half, Samford took its first lead of the game when Martin hit a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 30-28 lead with 19:06 to go in the game. A three-pointer by Sams gave GSU the lead back at 31-30 with 16:20 left in the game.
 
Samford came back with a 9-2 run to take a 39-33 with 12:03 to go after a layup by Kendall Schwantz. Samford built its lead to as much as seven points at 42-35 with 7:04 to go in the game. GSU fought back to cut the lead to three points at 42-39 with 5:46 to go after a pair of free throws by MiMi DuBose.
 
Georgia Southern took the lead again at 45-44 with 3:52 to go after a three-pointer by Ronnesha Smith. A three-pointer by Dawson gave Samford the lead again at 47-45 with 3:26 to go. After a three-pointer by Frye gave GSU a 48-47 lead, Samford's Taylor Reece hit a layup with 2:06 to go to give Samford a 49-48 advantage.
 
Frye hit a layup with 39 seconds to go to make the score 50-49. Martin then hit two free throws with 26 seconds to go to give Samford a 51-50 lead, setting the stage for Frye's game-winning free throws.
 
Samford will return to action on Monday, Feb. 18, when the Bulldogs play at College of Charleston. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Charleston, S.C.