Box Score SOCON WBB TOURNAMENT BRACKET

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A cold-shooting first half was too much to overcome for the Samford women's basketball team as the Bulldogs fell to the Elon Phoenix by a score of 44-43 in the team's final regular-season game Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought from a defensive standpoint, we defended well enough the whole game to have a chance to win," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Offensively, we were bad in the first half. We were not as aggressive as we needed to be and we didn't shoot the ball well. I thought the first 20 minutes, from an offensive standpoint, really hurt us.
 
"I was pleased with the way our team responded in the second half," Morris said. "We defended the entire game and we were definitely better in the second half, offensively."
 
With the loss, Samford ends its regular season with a record of 10-19 overall and 8-10 in Southern Conference play. Samford has earned the sixth seed for next week's Southern Conference Tournament, to be held in Asheville, N.C. Samford earns a bye through Friday's first round, and the Bulldogs will take on third-seeded Davidson Saturday at 5:45 p.m. (CT) from UNC Asheville's Kimmel Arena. For a full SoCon Women's Basketball Tournament bracket, click here: SoCon Tournament Bracket.
 
"This was a tough loss and it will take a day or two to get over it," Morris said. "I hope our team is confident, they should be confident heading into the tournament. We'll meet tomorrow and set our game plan for the rest of the week. Our young ladies should be confident in their ability to go in there and make something special happen."
 
For Samford in the loss, freshmen Kassidy Blevins and Hannah Nichols shared the team lead in scoring with 13 points each. Sophomore Keke Fletcher scored six points for the Bulldogs.
 
Elon was led offensively by Sam Coffer and Jessica Farmer with eight points each. Jenifer Rhodes and Shannen Cochraham scored seven points each for the Phoenix.
 
In the first half, Elon raced out to an early 9-2 lead with 13:34 to go in the first half following a jumper by Farmer. Samford scored the next seven points to tie the score at 9-9 with 11:55 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Nichols. Elon answered with an 8-0 run to take a 17-9 lead with 6:36 left in the first half after a jumper by Kelsey Harris.
 
Elon stretched its lead out to as much as 11 points in the first half at 22-11 with 1:03 left in the half after a jumper by Farmer. Elon took a 24-14 lead into halftime. In the first half, Samford made just 19.2 percent of its shots overall and 18.2 percent of its three-pointers. Elon shot 40.7 percent overall in the first half.
 
Samford opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take a 27-26 lead with 13:35 left in the game after a three-pointer by Nichols. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes until, with Samford leading, 33-32, Elon went on a 6-0 run to take a 38-33 lead with 5:46 to play following a free throw by Rhodes.
 
Samford fought back to cut the lead to just one point at 44-43 with 1:56 to play following a three-pointer by Blevins. Neither team was able to score on their next few possessions. Samford had the ball with nine seconds to play, but Fletcher's last-second attempt from three-point range was blocked by Coffer to preserve the 44-43 win for Elon.
 
As a team, Samford shot 29.8 percent for the game, including a 42.9-percent effort in the second half. The Bulldogs made 34.8 percent of their three-pointers, 50.0 percent after halftime. Elon out-rebounded Samford, 44-23.
 
Samford will next be in action on Saturday, March 8, when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs take on third-seeded Davidson on the second day of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. Tip-off for the Samford-Davidson game is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. (CT). All of Samford's games in the tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.