BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Samford women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to take a 68-52 Southern Conference win over Western Carolina Monday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The win was the fifth-straight victory for Samford, improving to 11-8 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are 8-0 at home so far this season. Western Carolina falls to 8-11 overall and 0-4 in league games.
 
"I thought this was a very good defensive effort," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Krista (Stricklin) did a great job on number 24 (Justin Taylor), who may be the best one-on-one player in the league. Amara (Mayers) did a good job on her as well. This was a great team effort. I was very pleased with Brittany (Stevens) and Lydia (McGee) as our guards, getting us into some good stuff so we can get the ball where we need to get the ball."
 
For Samford offensively, Destiney Elliott and Hannah Nichols scored 15 points each. Brittany Stevens scored a career-high 13 points, and Lydia McGee posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Western Carolina was led offensively by Brianne Mack with 10 points. Justin Taylor scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Lindsay Simpson also scored eight points for the Catamounts.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 8-3 lead with 13:28 left in the first half following a jumper by Stevens. Western Carolina, however, scored the next five points to tie the score at 8-8 with 11:53 left in the first half after a free throw by Emily Hatfield.
 
Samford then went on a 14-2 run to take a 22-10 lead with 8:11 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Nichols. Samford pushed its lead out to 16 points at 28-12 with 3:49 left in the half following a layup by Stevens. With Samford holding a 33-17 advantage, Stevens hit a three-pointer as time expired in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 36-17 lead heading into halftime.
 
Samford opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 45-19 lead with 16:23 left in the game after a layup by Krista Stricklin. Western Carolina fought back to close to within 19 points at 45-26 with 14:47 left after a pair of free throws by Mack. The Bulldogs pushed their lead back out to 25 at 53-28 with 11:34 left after a three-point play by McGee.
 
Western Carolina closed to within 15 points late in the game at 65-50 with 1:45 left after a pair of free throws by Hatfield. The Catamounts, however, could get no closer as Samford came away with the 68-52 win.
 
As a team, Samford shot 48.9 percent overall from the floor, including 50.0 percent from three-point range. Western Carolina made 29.5 percent overall and 18.2 percent from three-point range. Western Carolina won the rebounding battle, 36-27.
 
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 26, when the Bulldogs play at Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CT) start from McKenzie Arena.