Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team took Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga to double overtime, but eventually fell to the Lady Mocs by a score of 74-67, Monday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought in the second half and in the overtime, our defensive effort was very good," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "The way we played in the second half and the overtime should help us going into the last two regular season games."
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 9-18 overall and 7-9 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improves to 24-3 overall and 16-0 in SoCon games. The win was the 20^th-straight for the Lady Mocs.
 
Samford was led by senior center Christy Robinson with a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Hannah Nichols had 12 points, while freshman guard Lydia McGee added 11 points.
 
For Chattanooga, Taylor Hall scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Chelsey Shumpert had 17 points, while Alex Black added 16 points for the Lady Mocs. Jasmine Joyner grabbed 10 rebounds for Chattanooga as well.
 
Late in the second half, with Samford leading, 54-52, Chattanooga's Black hit a jumper with 15 seconds left to tie the score and eventually force overtime.
 
In the first overtime, after Shumpert hit a layup to give Chattanooga a 56-54 lead, Nichols hit a three-pointer to give Samford a 57-56 lead with 3:34 to go. Hall answered with a jumper with 2:44 left to give UTC a 58-57 advantage. Two free throws by Kassidy Blevins and one by Robinson gave Samford a 60-58 lead with 1:47 to go.
 
Shumpert then hit a three-pointer to put Chattanooga ahead, 61-60 with 1:21 to play. A pair of free throws by McGee put Samford back on top at 62-61 with 35 seconds to go, but Ka'Vonne Towns made one-of-two free throws with 15 seconds left to send the game to a second overtime tied at 62-62.
 
In the second overtime, a jumper by Shumpert gave UTC an early 64-62 lead, but McGee made one-of-two free throws to make the score 64-63 with 3:30 left on the clock. Black then hit a layup to give UTC a 66-63 lead with 3:14 left in the game. Robinson then hit two free throws to bring Samford to within one point at 66-65 with 2:36 left.
 
After Shumpert hit one-of-two free throws to make the score 67-65, a Robinson layup tied the score at 67-67 with 1:53 to play. Shumpert then drained a three-pointer to give UTC a 70-67 advantage with 1:23 left in the game. Samford's Nichols had a good look at a game-tying three-pointer with 51 seconds left, but it just missed. A jumper by Black and two late free throws by Hall gave Chattanooga the 74-67 win.
 
The game was close throughout, with 13 lead changes and 13 ties. The first half was tight until, with Chattanooga leading, 11-10, Samford went on a 9-2 run to take a 19-13 lead with 6:28 left in the half following a three-pointer by Krista Stricklin. Chattanooga answered with a 16-3 run of its own to take a 29-22 lead with 39 seconds left in the half. Two late free throws by Robinson sent the game to halftime with UTC holding a 29-24 lead.
 
In the second half, Chattanooga pushed its lead to seven points early at 33-26 with 18:27 to play. Samford scored the next seven points to tie the score at 33-33 with 16:46 to go after a three-pointer by Nichols. With Chattanooga leading, 41-37, Samford went on an 8-0 run to take a 45-41 lead with 9:49 to go after a layup by Ellen Riggins.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Chattanooga tied the score at 45-45 with 8:37 to go. Samford answered with a 7-2 run to take a 52-47 lead with 4:45 left after a jumper by McGee. With Samford leading, 54-49, Chattanooga scored the final five points of regulation to force the first overtime.
 
As a team, Samford made 36.1 percent of its shots, including 42.9 percent from three-point range. Chattanooga shot 44.6 percent overall, but just 20.0 percent from beyond the arc. Chattanooga out-rebounded Samford, 42-39.
 
Samford will return to action on Friday, Feb. 28, when the Bulldogs play host to UNCG. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.