BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford's Taylor Reece and Hannah Nichols scored 22 points each to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 79-75 win over the UT Martin Skyhawks Wednesday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought this was a very good win for our basketball team," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We didn't start well, but we overcame that and then we extended the lead. They made a run and took the lead again, but we just hung in there. I was really pleased with how our team responded."
 
Nichols' 22 points set a new career high for the sophomore. She made 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 6-of-9 from three-point range. In addition to her 22 points, Reece grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists.
 
Behind Reece and Nichols, freshman Destiney Elliott had 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Brittany Stevens scored eight points and dished out six assists.
 
For the Skyhawks, Ashia Jones scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds. Karisma Tyson scored 11 points for UT Martin, while Tiara Caldwell and Jessy Ward added 10 points each.
 
In the first half, UT Martin jumped out to an early lead at 7-0 with 16:30 left in the half following a jumper by Shai Warfield-Cross. Samford scored the next five points to cut the lead to two at 7-5 with 13:14 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Kassidy Blevins.
 
The Skyhawks led by as many as 11 points at 32-21 with 5:14 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Ward. Samford, however closed the half on a 17-5 run to take a 38-37 lead into halftime following a layup by Nichols.
 
Samford opened the second half on a 10-2 run to push its lead to nine at 48-39 with 17:28 left following a layup by Reece. UT Martin fought back to cut the lead to three points at 50-47 with 13:21 left after a layup by Jones. Samford pushed the lead back out to eight at 55-47 with 12:27 remaining after a three-pointer by Stevens.
 
UT Martin then went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 55-55 with 10:11 remaining after a three-pointer by Tyson. The Skyhawks took a brief lead at 61-60 with 8:10 to go after a layup by Jones. Back-to-back baskets by Elliott and Reece gave Samford a 64-61 lead with 6:37 left in the game.
 
UT Martin came back to tie the game again at 66-66 with 4:27 left after a layup by Caldwell. Samford then went on a 7-0 run to take a 73-66 lead with 2:23 left after a free throw by Krista Stricklin. UT Martin cut the lead to three at 73-70 with 1:38 to go, but the Skyhawks could get no closer as Samford came away with the four-point win at 79-75.
 
As a team, Samford made 52.7 percent of its shots overall and 50.0 percent from three-point range. UT Martin shot 43.3 percent overall and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. UT Martin out-rebounded Samford, 36-31.
 
The win is Samford's third-straight victory and improves the Bulldogs' record to 3-1. UT Martin drops to 1-5 with the loss.
 
Samford will return to action on Friday, Nov. 28, when the Bulldogs play at Georgia State in the first round of the Georgia State Thanksgiving Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. (CT) start, and it can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.