GREENVILLE, S.C.— The Samford women's basketball team shot just 36.7 percent from the floor in a 64-44 loss at Furman Monday evening at Timmons Arena.
"Obviously, Furman played well," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They shot the ball well from the arc. I thought that was kind of the difference in the game, that and getting to the free-throw line. They have everybody healthy and they play well here. I thought they really did a good job."
In the loss for Samford, Destiney Elliott and Hannah Nichols scored 16 point each. Elliott also had a team-high seven rebounds. Brittany Stevens added seven points for the Bulldogs.
For Furman, Holli Wilkins led the way with 15 points. Cierra Carter scored 13 points, Kelsey Ellis scored 11 points and Whitney Bunn added 10 points for the Paladins.
Samford jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with 17:05 to go in the first half following a jumper by Nichols. Furman scored the next five points to take a 5-4 lead with 15:32 left in the half after a basket by Wilkins. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes until, with Samford leading, 10-7, Furman went on a 13-0 run to take a 20-10 lead with 6:52 left in the half after a three-pointer by Ellis.
Samford scored the next four points to cut the lead to six points at 20-14 with 5:19 to go in the first half after a layup by Krista Stricklin. Furman then went on an 8-0 run to make the score 28-14 with 3:54 left in the half after another three-pointer by Ellis. Samford cut the lead to nine points at 28-19, but Furman scored the final five points of the half to take a 33-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Furman opened the second half with a 10-2 run to push its lead out to 22 points at 43-21 with 16:19 to go in the game after a free throw by Brittany Hodges. Samford came back with a 14-1 run to cut the Furman lead to nine points at 44-35 with 9:23 to go after a three-pointer by Nichols.
Furman pushed its lead back out to 17 points at 55-38 with 4:27 to go after a pair of free throws by Wilkins. Samford fought back to cut the lead to 13 points at 57-44 with 3:14 to go after a three-pointer by Nichols. Furman scored the last seven points of the game to make the final score 64-44.
As a team, Furman shot 45.5 percent overall and 61.5 percent from three-point range. Furman won the rebounding battle, 37-23.
With the loss, Samford falls to 14-12 overall and 7-4 in Southern Conference games. Furman improves to 16-11 overall and 5-6 in league games.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Bulldogs host Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
