Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team used a strong overall performance to earn a 68-57 Southern Conference win over UNCG Friday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 10-18 overall and 8-9 in Southern Conference play. Samford's win, paired with Georgia Southern's loss to Wofford gives Samford a one-game lead on the Eagles for sixth place in the league and a possible first-round bye in the upcoming SoCon Tournament. UNCG falls to 7-11 overall and 3-14 in SoCon play.
 
"I thought, offensively, that is about as well as we have played, particularly in the second half," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We scored 40 points in the second half, shot the ball well and executed."
 
Samford freshman guard Kassidy Blevins tied a career high with 21 points. Redshirt freshman guard Lydia McGee scored a career-high 16 points, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out five assists. Freshman forward Ellen Riggins had nine rebounds and eight rebounds, while senior center Christy Robinson added nine rebounds.
 
"I thought Christy Robinson and Ellen Riggins did a great job of anchoring our inside," Morris said. "And that freed up a lot of shots for Kassidy and Lydia."
 
For UNCG, Lucy Mason led the way with 21 points. Jarae Savage scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
 
In the first half, UNCG jumped out to an early 6-3 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half following a layup by Janae' Stevenson. Samford went on a 9-0 run to take a 12-6 lead with 11:31 left after a layup by McGee.
 
With Samford leading, 17-11, UNCG went on a 10-0 run to take a 21-17 lead with 3:59 left in the half after a jumper by Stevenson. Samford scored the next five points to take a 22-21 lead with 2:58 left in the half after a jumper by Blevins. After UNCG took the lead back at 23-22, Samford scored six of the last seven points of the half to take a 28-24 lead into halftime.
 
UNCG came back to take a one-point lead early in the second half at 29-28 with 19:08 to go after a pair of free throws by Mason. Samford answered with a 13-2 run to take a 41-31 lead with 15:03 left in the game after a three-pointer by Blevins. Samford pushed its lead out to 12 points at 46-34 with 12:00 left after a three-pointer by McGee.
 
UNCG fought back to cut the Samford lead to seven points at 49-42 with 8:12 left following a layup by Jessica Collins. Samford then went on a 12-1 run to take an 18-point lead at 61-43 with 4:09 to go following a free throw by Clara Young.
 
With Samford holding a 66-50 advantage, UNCG scored seven of the final nine points in the game to make the final score 68-57. The win gives Samford the season sweep of the series with UNCG, as the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans, 65-52, in Greensboro, N.C., on Dec. 16.
 
As a team, Samford shot 51.1 percent overall, including a 45.0 percent effort from three-point range. UNCG made 36.5 percent of its shots overall and just 11.1 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
 
Samford will return to action Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs play host to Elon at 1 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. The game will be the final regular-season game for the Bulldogs. Seniors Robinson and Shelby Campbell will be honored prior to the game.