BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team held Auburn University at Montgomery to just 28.6 percent shooting on its way to a 62-36 win over the Warhawks Monday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.

 "I thought our effort was pretty good," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "It was great seeing Amara (Mayers) coming off the bench and giving us some good minutes. Brittany (Stevens) got into a good flow in just her third game back after being out for eight games."

In the win, Samford was led in scoring by Destiney Elliott with 18 points and six rebounds. Hannah Nichols scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Krista Stricklin added 10 points and six rebounds. Brittany Stevens had six points and four assists.

"I thought Taylor (Reece) did a good job of setting the tone in the second half and wanting the ball and calling for the ball," Morris said. "Hannah made some shots, and then Destiney, after getting off to a slow start, did a good job of attacking and making things happen."

For AUM, Gabby Brown led the way with eight points and 10 rebounds. Kaylan Withrow added six points for the Warhawks.

In the first half, the teams traded baskets early. With Samford trailing, 4-3, the Bulldogs went on a 15-0 run to take an 18-4 lead with 7:02 left in the first half after a free throw by Taylor Reece. Samford pushed its lead out to 18 points at 25-7 with 3:58 to go in the first half after a jumper by Reece.

AUM fought back to cut the lead to 13 points at 25-12 with 2:23 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Withrow. A three-pointer by Stricklin gave Samford a 28-12 lead with 2:01 left in the half. AUM scored five of the final six points in the half to cut Samford's lead to 12 points at 29-17 heading into halftime.

In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 15 points at 34-19 with 18:32 left in the game after a three-pointer by Nichols. With Samford leading, 40-24, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to push their lead out to 25 points at 51-26 with 10:40 to go after a layup by Keke Fletcher.

The Warhawks fought back to cut the Samford lead to 18 points at 51-33 with 7:26 left in the game following a layup by Brown. With Samford leading, 54-36, the Bulldogs scored the final eight points of the game to pull away for a 26-point win, 62-36.

As a team, Samford shot 44.2 percent overall and 36.8 percent from three-point range. The Samford defense forced AUM into 29 turnovers, while the Bulldogs committed 17 turnovers of their own. AUM won the rebounding battle, 34-33.

With the win, Samford improves to 7-8 on the season. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in home games so far this season. AUM falls to 11-6 with the loss.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10, when the Bulldogs open Southern Conference play at UNCG. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from UNCG's Fleming Gymnasium.