Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team shot 62.5 percent in the first half, but just 37.0 percent in the second half in an 83-68 Southern Conference loss to Davidson Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
For the game, Samford made 49.0 percent of its shots overall. The Bulldogs made 35.3 percent of their attempts from three-point range (57.1 percent in the first half and 20.0 percent in the second half). Davidson shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51) for the game, and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from beyond the arc.
 
"I thought Davidson shot the ball extremely well," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We made a few mistakes and they made us pay every time. In the second half, we hit a lull and our spirit and our energy dropped a little,  and when we got it back, it was a little too late. They are a good team that shot the ball well tonight."
 
Three Samford players posted career highs in scoring during the game. Senior center Christy Robinson scored a career-high 19 points, redshirt freshman guard Lydia McGee posted a career-high 14 points, and freshman guard Kassidy Blevins finished with a career-high eight points. Freshman forward Hannah Nichols scored 11 points, while sophomore guard Krista Stricklin added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
 
Robinson, who made 8 of her 12 shot attempts, led Samford in rebounding with seven. Stricklin and Nichols grabbed six rebounds each. McGee and senior guard Shelby Campbell shared the team lead in assists with five each.
 
For Davidson, Hannah Early led the way with 25 points, making 7-of-12 shots from the floor and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Laura Murray scored 18 points, Shannon Eriksson had 16 points, and Lillian McCabe added 10 points for the Wildcats.
 
Samford got off to a fast start in the first half, scoring the first five points of the contest. Davidson answered with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 5-5 with 17:54 to go in the first half. With Samford holding a 7-5 advantage, Davidson went on a 10-4 run to take a 15-11 lead with 13:24 to go in the first after a three-pointer by Early.
 
Samford scored the next seven points in a row to take an 18-15 lead with 11:13 to go in the opening half following a layup by McGee. After Davidson tied the game at 18-18 on a three-pointer by McCabe, Samford went on a 12-3 run to take a 30-21 advantage with 7:08 left in the first half after a layup by Robinson.
 
Davidson, however, answered with a 10-2 run to cut the Samford lead to one point at 32-31 with 4:53 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Eriksson. After a layup by Robinson made the score 34-31, Davidson scored the next seven points to take the lead at 38-34 with 2:29 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by Murray. Davidson took a 40-37 lead into halftime.
 
Samford tied the score at 42-42 with 18:42 left in the game after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Davidson then went on a 15-4 run to take a 57-46 lead with 10:56 to play after a three-pointer by Early. After a jumper by Robinson cut the lead to nine points at 57-48, Davidson went on a 12-0 run to push its lead to 69-48 with 6:35 to go after two free throws by Early.
 
The Bulldogs, however, answered with a 15-2 run to cut the Wildcats' lead to just eight points at 71-63 with 2:39 to go after a layup by McGee. Samford, however, was unable to get any closer as Davidson hit several key free throws down the stretch to pull away for the 83-68 win.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play. Davidson improves to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in SoCon games.
 
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 6, when the Bulldogs play host to Georgia Southern. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.