CULLOWHEE, N.C.—The Samford women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on its way to a 59-42 win at Western Carolina in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Thursday night in the Ramsey Center.
 
Samford improves to 9-7 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play. Western Carolina falls to 4-11 overall and 0-1 in league games.
 
Samford shot a season-high 54.2 percent from the floor in the win. The Bulldogs outscored the Catamounts, 50-12 in the paint, and Samford attempted a season-low seven three-pointers in the contest.
 
"This was a credit to our players," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "One thing we emphasized was we wanted to go inside and our players did a good job of that. I hope this is something we can build on from an offensive standpoint."
 
Samford was led in the game by senior guard Krista Stricklin with 15 points. Sophomore forward Destiney Elliott scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior center Taylor Reece had 10 points, while junior forward Ellen Riggins added eight points and five rebounds.
 
Western Carolina was led by Lindsay Simpson with 12 points. Kyia Hough and Ace Easter added seven points each for the Catamounts. The Samford defense limited Western Carolina to just 36.6-percent shooting for the game.
 
"Defensively, we had great energy," Morris said. "We kept them from getting anything around the goal. Overall, I was very pleased with how this team played in its first conference game."
 
After Western Carolina took an early lead, Samford went on an 11-0 run to take an 11-2 lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Samford held a 17-4 advantage at the end of the first period.
 
In the second quarter, Western Carolina cut the Samford lead to 10 points at 17-7 with an early three-pointer. With Samford leading, 19-9, the Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run to close the second period and give Samford a 33-10 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
 
Samford pushed its lead out to 27 points midway through the third quarter at 39-12 with 5:54 left in the period following a layup by Elliott. Samford eventually led by as much as 29 points at 45-16 with 2:53 to go in the period after a layup by Stricklin. Samford led, 49-23 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Western Carolina opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run to cut the Samford lead to 14 points at 53-39 with 3:22 left in the game after a three-pointer by Easter. Western Carolina, however, could get no closer as Samford came away with the 59-42 win.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 9, when the Bulldogs play at UNCG. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Greensboro, N.C.