Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team built a 10-point second half lead, but the Bulldogs could not hold it as they eventually fell to Georgia Southern, 64-61, Monday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought we played hard enough to win the game," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We did a lot of good stuff and I thought we had an opportunity to win this game. But, we didn't win the game and hopefully that is something we can learn from and grow from."
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 3-12 overall and 1-3 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern improves to 4-11 overall and 2-2 in SoCon games.
 
In the loss, Samford was led by freshman Hannah Nichols with a career-high 16 points. Sophomore Krista Stricklin had 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior Shelby Campbell scored 11 points for the Bulldogs. Redshirt freshman Lydia McGee added nine points for Samford.
 
For Georgia Southern, Anna Claire Knight posted a triple-double, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. Lacie Dowling also scored 16 points for the Eagles.
 
Samford started the game hot, racing out to a 7-0 lead with 16:19 to go in the first half following a jumper by McGee. After GSU cut the lead to 7-2, Samford went on a 14-5 run to make the score 21-7 with 8:50 left in the first half after a layup by Stricklin.
 
Georgia Southern answered with a 14-0 run to tie the score at 21-21 with 4:28 to go in the opening half following a three-pointer by Dowling. Georgia Southern took its first lead of the game at 27-26 with 1:50 to go after a layup by Knight. McGee hit a layup with 1:32 left in the half to make the score 28-27, and a jumper at the buzzer by Campbell sent Samford to halftime with a 30-27 lead.
 
In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 10 points at 39-29 with 17:20 left in the game after a three-pointer by Keke Fletcher. With Samford holding a 48-38 advantage, Georgia Southern went on a 14-4 run to tie the score at 52-52 with 4:29 to go after a jumper by Knight.
 
Campbell then hit a three-pointer to give Samford the lead again at 55-52 with 3:43 to go in the game. Georgia Southern then scored the next five points to take a 57-55 lead with 2:42 to go after a three-pointer by Dowling. Samford fought back to tie the game at 59-59 with 1:16 to go after a three-pointer by Nichols.
 
A three-point play by Knight gave GSU a 62-59 lead with 1:01 to go. A pair of free throws by Nichols made the score 62-61, but two late free throws by GSU's MiMi DuBose made the final score 64-61.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 11, when the Bulldogs play at Appalachian State. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Boone, N.C.