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CULLOWHEE, N.C. – In a hard-fought Southern Conference contest on the road, the Samford women's basketball team fell at Western Carolina, 54-50, Monday night at the Ramsey Center.
 
"I thought we defended well enough and we played the right way to have an opportunity to win," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We got stagnant in the second half offensively against their zone, because I did poor job of adjusting. We adjusted too late and that was my fault. I thought our players played well enough and tough enough to win the game, but I didn't have them in the right situation for a big bulk of the second half."
 
In the loss, Samford was led by senior center Christy Robinson, posting her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Lydia McGee had 11 points and five rebounds. The Bulldogs were playing without senior guard Shelby Campbell, who missed the game after suffering an injury in Saturday's game at Appalachian State.
 
For Western Carolina, Rena Wakama led the way with 19 points and six rebounds. Justin Taylor scored 12 points for the Catamounts.
 
Both teams traded baskets early in the first half, with neither team able to separate. With WCU leading, 6-5, Samford went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-6 lead with 15:38 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Krista Stricklin. With Samford leading, 16-9, Western Carolina went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-16 lead with 9:37 to go in the first half after a jumper by Taylor.
 
Samford built its lead back to four points at 24-20 with 4:59 to go in the first half following a free throw by Robinson. Western Carolina answered with a 7-0 run to take a 27-24 lead with 2:05 to play in the first half after a three-point play by Wakama. With WCU leading, 30-27, Samford's Hannah Nichols hit a three-pointer with 29 seconds to go in the half to send the teams to halftime tied at 30-30.
 
Western Carolina built a four-point lead early in the second half at 34-30, but Samford came back to tie the score at 34-34 with 15:18 to go after a layup by Stricklin. With the score tied at 36-36, WCU went on an 8-2 run to take a 44-38 lead with 5:09 to play after a free throw by Wakama.
 
Western Carolina built its lead up to as much as eight points at 48-40 with 3:23 to go after a basket by Makensey Campbell. Samford closed to within three points at 50-47 with 1:22 to go after a layup by McGee. A basket by Taylor and a free throw by Ali Lane pushed the lead back to six points at 53-47 with 46 seconds to go. McGee hit a layup and then made a free throw to complete the three-point play to make the score 53-50 with 20 seconds to go. A late free throw by Taylor made the final score 54-50.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina improves to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in league play. The loss was Samford's seventh-straight setback.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 18, when the Bulldogs play host to Furman. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.