TROY, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team dropped a tough 76-67 decision at Troy Wednesday night at Trojan Arena.
 
"We did a poor job of defending and that is my fault," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They ran a couple of concepts we had seen a little on tape but not much and we didn't spend enough time on that and that's my fault. That got them into a rhythm."
 
Samford was led in scoring by Krista Stricklin with 15 points and five rebounds. Hannah Nichols had 14 points and five rebounds, while Taylor Reece scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. Ellen Riggins added eight points and eight rebounds in the loss.
 
For Troy, Caitlyn Ramirez led the way with 21 points, making 8-of-13 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Ashley Beverly-Kelley had 17 points and six rebounds, and Kourtney Coleman added 16 points for the Trojans. Kristen Emerson was the game's leading rebounder with 11 boards.   
 
The teams traded baskets early until, with Samford leading, 11-8, Troy went on an 11-2 run to take a 19-13 lead with 12:14 to go in the first half after a basket by Lacey Buchanon. Samford cut the lead to two points at 19-17 with 9:43 left in the half following a layup by Stricklin.
 
Troy, however, answered with a 7-0 run to take a 26-17 lead with 7:29 left in the half after a basket by Beverly-Kelley. Troy pushed its lead to as much as 13 in the first half at 37-24, and the Trojans took a 40-28 advantage into halftime.
 
Samford opened the second half with a 9-0 run to cut the Troy lead to three points at 40-37 with 17:19 to go following a three-pointer by Nichols. Troy answered with a 9-0 run of its own to push its lead back out to 12 at 49-37 with 14:43 left after a three-pointer by Coleman. Samford then fought back to cut the lead back to five at 52-47 with 10:24 left after a layup by Riggins.
 
With Troy leading, 57-49, Samford went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to two points at 59-57 with 5:27 left in the game after a layup by Destiney Elliott. Troy answered with a 9-1 run to push its lead back out to 10 points at 68-58 with 2:59 left after a three-pointer by Ramirez. Samford made a late run to cut the lead back to four at 71-67 with 48 seconds left after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Troy, however, scored the final five points of the game to come away with the 76-67 win.
 
As a team, Samford made 48.1 percent of its shots from the floor, while Troy made 41.9 percent of its shots. Samford won the rebounding battle, 36-33.
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 4-3 on the young season. Troy improves to 3-3 with the win.
 
Samford will return to action Saturday, Dec. 6, when the Bulldogs play host to cross-town rival UAB. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.