ATLANTA, Ga. – The Samford women's basketball team built a nine-point lead in the second half, but could not hold on as the Bulldogs fell to Georgia State, 61-56 in the first round of the Georgia State Thanksgiving Invitational Friday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
 
"We just didn't have the energy and effort we needed initially," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "That is disappointing. But give them credit, they played well, they hung in there, they changed defenses and did a lot of different stuff, and we just couldn't make shots."
 
In the loss, Samford was led by Ellen Riggins, scoring 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Hannah Nichols also scored 14 points for the Bulldogs. Taylor Reece added nine points for Samford.
 
For Georgia State, Kayla Nolan led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds. Alisha Andrews scored 14 points, while Brittany Logan added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Panthers.  
 
After the teams traded baskets to start the game, Georgia State went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-2 lead with 14:43 left in the first half after a basket by Nolan. Samford scored the next six points to cut the lead to 11-8 with 12:47 to go in the opening half following a basket by Riggins.
 
With Samford trailing, 16-10, the Bulldogs went on a 16-3 run to take a 26-19 lead with 3:52 left in the half after a layup by Riggins. Georgia State closed the first half with a 10-4 run to cut the Samford lead to 30-29 heading into halftime.
 
Early in the second half, Georgia State came back to take a 33-32 lead with 18:25 to play after a layup by Nolan. Samford answered with an 11-1 run to take a 43-34 lead with 12:46 left in the game after a layup by Riggins. Georgia State then went on an 11-3 run to cut the Bulldogs' lead to one point at 46-45 with 8:29 left after a pair of free throws by Haley Gerrin.
 
With Samford leading, 51-47, Georgia State came back with an 11-2 run to take a 58-53 lead with 4:08 to play following a jumper by Andrews. Samford fought back to cut the lead to three points at 59-56 with 1:31 left, but the Bulldogs could get no closer as GSU came away with the 61-56 win.
 
As a team, Samford made 40 percent of its shots, while Georgia State shot 35.8 percent overall. Georgia State won the rebounding battle, 38-36.
 
The loss ends a three-game win streak for the Bulldogs, and Samford drops to 3-2 so far this season. Georgia State improves to 3-0 with the win.
 
Samford will now face Penn State in the consolation game of the tournament Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (CT). The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.