ATLANTA, Ga. – The Samford women's basketball team overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to earn a 59-56 overtime win over defending Big 10 champion Penn State Sunday afternoon on the final day of the Georgia State Thanksgiving Invitational at the GSU Sports Arena.
 
Samford trailed 21-13 at halftime, and 38-22 with 9:59 left in the second half. The Bulldogs outscored the Lady Lions, 33-25 in the second half and 13-10 in the overtime period.
 
 "I have to give all of the credit to these young ladies," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They stayed with it and hung in there. Krista Stricklin did a good job in the second half of getting us into stuff. When we put Ellen Riggins at the P, that was a great move for her because she was able to get to the rim. Taylor Reece made some shots and Hannah Nichols made some shots in the second half."
 
With Samford trailing, 38-22 midway through the second half, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to eight points at 38-30 with 6:36 to go after a layup by Hannah Nichols. The Lady Lions held a 10-point advantage at 46-36 with 5:27 to go, but Samford scored the final 10 points of regulation, tying the score on a three-pointer by Nichols with 1:39 left in the second half.
 
The teams headed to overtime tied at 46-46. After PSU took a 48-46 lead on a pair of free throws by Tori Waldner, Samford went on a 9-1 run to take a 55-49 lead with 1:48 to go after a layup by Ellen Riggins. Penn State fought back to cut the Samford lead to one point at 57-56 with 16 seconds left after two free throws by Sierra Moore. Two late free throws by Krista Stricklin sealed the 59-56 win for the Bulldogs.
 
For the game for Samford, Taylor Reece led the team with 22 points and six rebounds. Nichols scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Riggins and Stricklin scored nine points each for Samford in the win.
 
Despite giving up a significant size advantage to Penn State, Samford out-rebounded the Lady Lions, 42-40. Samford had eight offensive rebounds, while limiting PSU to just seven offensive boards.
 
"We defended for 45 minutes," Morris said. "We didn't give up a lot of offensive rebounds to a huge team. When you can guard and keep the opposing team off of the offensive glass, you have a chance."
 
Penn State was led by Moore with 17 points. Jenny DeGraaf scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Lindsey Spann added 10 points for PSU, while Waldner had eight points and 12 rebounds for Penn State.
 
In the first half, Penn State jumped out to an early seven-point lead at 9-2 with 14:37 left after a free throw by Spann. Samford cut the lead to four at 9-5 after a jumper by Reece and a free throw by Destiney Elliott with 13:04 left in the first half.
 
With Samford trailing, 11-7, Penn State went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-7 lead with 5:08 to go in the half after a free throw by Moore. Penn State took a 21-13 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Samford cut the lead to two points at 21-19 after back-to-back three-pointers by Reece with 19:05 left in regulation. With Samford trailing, 25-22, Penn State went on a 13-0 run to take a 16-point lead at 38-22, setting the stage for the Bulldogs' comeback.
 
As a team, Samford shot 36.4 percent for the game (26.6 percent in the first half, 35.7 percent in the second half and 66.7 percent in overtime). The Bulldogs made 4-of-6 shots from the floor in the overtime period. Penn State shot 32.8 percent for the game, including a 28.6-percent effort in the extra period.
 
The win is Samford's first-ever victory over a Big 10 opponent. Samford improves to 4-2, while Penn State drops to 1-5.
 
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the Bulldogs play at in-state rival Troy. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from Trojan Arena.