VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team earned a 69-62 win in a hard-fought, back-and-forth game against UT Martin Wednesday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought we did a good job of attacking the paint and going inside initially," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I thought we kind of set the tone that we were going to attack offensively. From a defensive standpoint, they made a lot of threes early, but I thought we were fairly solid."
 
With the win, Samford improves to 2-3 on the season, while UT Martin drops to 1-4. Samford shot 58.7 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Skyhawks, 30-27.
 
Samford was led individually by Hannah Nichols with a career-high 24 points. Samantha Fitzgerald posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kassidy Blevins scored 15 points, while Charity Brown dished out 11 assists.
 
For UT Martin, Emanye Robertson scored 19 points. Ashton Feldhaus had 14 points and six rebounds, while Kendall Spray added 11 points for the Skyhawks.
 
Samford jumped out to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter, but UT Martin came back with a 15-2 run to take a 17-12 lead with 2:56 left in the opening period. The Skyhawks led, 22-16 at the end of the first quarter. Samford opened the second quarter with a 21-5 run to take a 37-27 lead with 2:14 left before halftime. The Bulldogs took a 41-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
UT Martin opened the third quarter with a 16-5 run to take a 47-46 lead with 2:49 left in the period. Samford fought back to take a three-point lead at 52-49 heading into the final period. Samford opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 61-54 lead with 4:11 left in the game. Samford led by as many as eight points at 66-58 with 1:16 to go, and the Bulldogs came away with the seven-point win at 69-62.
 
Samford will travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Kentucky Wildcats Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). Samford's next home game will be Nov. 30, when the Bulldogs host Alabama State at 6 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. To purchase tickets for women's basketball, click on the following link: PURCHASE TICKETS.