BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford sophomore guard Kassidy Blevins scored 19 points, but it was not enough as the Bulldog women's basketball team dropped a 60-54 decision to Harvard Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The game was Samford's first home game since Nov. 21, after playing the last 10 games away from home. With the loss, Samford drops to 8-7. Harvard improves to 5-7 with the win.
 
"Harvard did a great job of controlling the paint with their fours and fives," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They made threes early in the first half, but they really hurt us around the goal, and they crushed us on the offensive glass. They really established themselves around the goal and we didn't."
 
Harvard out-rebounded Samford, 43-30 in the contest. The Crimson had 16 offensive rebounds, compared to just five for Samford. As a team, Samford shot 38.5 percent, while Harvard made 33.3 percent of its shots.
 
Blevins made 7-of-12 shots from the floor and 5-of-9 from three-point range. Senior center Taylor Reece, who was honored prior to the game for recently scoring her 1,000^th career point, scored nine points. Senior guard Amara Mayers had seven points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
For Harvard, AnnMarie Healy led the way with 16 points. Shilpa Tummala had 14 points, while Kit Metoyer added 12 points for the Crimson.
 
Harvard jumped out to an early 5-2 lead with 8:33 left in the first quarter after a jumper by Healy. Samford answered with a 6-0 run to take an 8-5 lead with 6:27 to go in the period after a pair of free throws by Mayers. Harvard then went on a 12-0 run to take a 17-8 lead with 1:22 left in the quarter after two free throws by Nani Redford. Harvard held a 21-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
Samford opened the second quarter with a 9-1 run to cut the lead to three points at 22-19 with 6:42 left in the quarter after a jumper by Keke Fletcher. With Harvard leading, 24-21, the Crimson went on a 7-1 run to push their lead back out to nine points at 31-22 with 1:15 left in the period after a jumper by Tummala. A late three-pointer by Blevins cut the Harvard lead to 31-25 heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Samford cut the Harvard lead to two points at 36-34 with 4:32 left in the period following a three-pointer by Reece. Harvard then scored the next nine points to make the score 45-34 with 1:50 to go in the period after a jumper by Redford. The Crimson led, 47-40 after three quarters.
 
Harvard pushed its lead out to 12 points at 54-42 with 6:54 left in the game after a pair of free throws by Metoyer. Samford cut the lead back to seven points at 55-48 with 4:22 left after two free throws by Reece. Harvard then pushed the lead back out to 12 points at 60-48 with 1:47 left. Samford scored the final six point of the game to make the final score 60-54.
 
Samford will open Southern Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 9, when the Bulldogs play at Western Carolina. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) from Cullowhee, N.C.