AUBURN, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team committed 27 turnovers on its way to a 64-41 loss at Auburn Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
 
"They did a great job at certain times and then we did a poor job of executing at times," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Auburn does a great job with their press, they are long and athletic. This was a physical game and it was called a physical game and we didn't adjust to that very well."
 
Samford was led in the game by sophomore guard Hannah Nichols with 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Destiney Elliott scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds, while junior guard Krista Stricklin had nine points and six rebounds.
 
For Auburn, Jazmine Jones led the way with 12 points. Katie Frerking scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Tra'Cee Tanner added 10 points for the Tigers.    
 
Auburn jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half following a basket by Tanner. Samford fought back to cut the lead to one point at 10-9 with 14:51 to go in the half after two free throws by Ellen Riggins.
 
Auburn then went on a 7-0 run to push its lead to 17-9 with 12:39 left in the first half after a basket by Brandy Montgomery. Samford came back with a 10-2 run to tie the score at 19-19 with 8:30 to go in the first half following a layup by Elliott. Auburn closed the half on a 13-1 run to take a 32-20 lead into halftime.
 
Samford opened the second half with a 9-2 run to cut the Auburn lead to 34-29 with 16:27 to go following a three-pointer by Stricklin. Auburn answered with an 8-2 run of its own to make the score 42-31 with 10:54 to go after a jumper by Frerking.
 
With Samford trailing, 42-34, Auburn went on a 10-1 run to take a 17-point lead at 52-35 with 7:08 to go after a basket by Montgomery. Samford could get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way as Auburn pulled away for the 64-41 win.
 
As a team, Samford made 37.5 percent of its shots overall, while Auburn made 41.0 percent of its shots. The rebounding battle was even, with each team grabbing 36 rebounds.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 5-4 on the young season. Auburn improves to 6-2 with the win.
 
Samford will return to action on Dec. 18, when the Bulldogs play at Tulane on the first day of the Tulane Double Tree Classic in New Orleans, La. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, and it can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.