BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford women's basketball team earned its third-straight win, claiming a 53-33 win over Shorter Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Brittany Stevens, Amara Mayers and Cassidy Williams shared the Samford team lead in scoring with eight points each. Taylor Reece and Krista Stricklin had seven points each for the Bulldogs.
 
For Shorter, Shakierya McClendon led the way with nine points. Shaundricka Mann scored seven points for the Hawks.
 
Samford led from the start, scoring the first five points of the contest. The Bulldogs built their lead to 11 points at 16-5 with 2:27 left in the first quarter following a three-pointer by Destiney Elliott. Samford held a 21-8 advantage at the end of the first period.
 
Samford pushed its lead to 14 points at 26-12 with 5:12 to go in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Kassidy Blevins. Shorter fought back to cut the lead to nine points at 26-17 with 2:53 left in the half. Samford took a 30-18 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
 
Shorter cut the lead to nine points at 30-21 early in the third quarter. Samford, however, finished the quarter with a 15-4 run to take a 45-25 lead into the final period.
 
In the fourth quarter, Samford built its lead to as much as 24 points at 51-27 with 2:27 to go in the game following a layup by Mayers. The Bulldogs finished the game with a 20-point victory, 53-33.
 
As a team, Samford shot 38.6 percent, while Shorter made 33.3 percent of its shots. Samford dished out 13 assists, while committing just 10 turnovers.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 3-1 on the season. The game counted as an exhibition game for Shorter.
 
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24, when the Bulldogs play at in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start from JSU's Pete Mathews Coliseum.