BOX SCORE (PDF)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Samford women's basketball team dropped a 51-48 decision to UC Riverside on the first day of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic Thursday afternoon at Alico Arena.
 
"The way we started the game wasn't what we wanted, but we hung in there, and as bad as we were, we were up two at halftime," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We battled and were right there with a chance. I thought the effort was good enough, after the first quarter, we just came up a couple of possessions short."
 
Samford was led in the loss by Hannah Nichols with 18 points and six rebounds. Kassidy Blevins scored 15 points for the Bulldogs. Ellen Riggins added eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
For UC Riverside, Rejane Verin led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds. Lauren Holt added 10 points and six rebounds for the Highlanders.
 
Neither team shot well in the first quarter. Samford made just two shots in the opening period, and the Bulldogs trailed the Highlanders, 9-4 after the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, UC Riverside pushed its lead out to six points at 12-6 with 4:50 left in the period. Samford, however, closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 16-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
UC Riverside scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 21-16 lead with 8:17 left in the period. Samford fought back to take a 35-33 lead with 1:43 left in the quarter. The Highlanders held a 38-37 advantage heading into the final period.
 
In the fourth quarter, Samford took a 42-40 lead with 6:15 to play following a three-pointer by Katie Allen. UCR scored the next six points to take a 46-42 lead with 4:23 to go. Samford fought back to take a 48-47 lead with 1:55 to go on a layup by Blevins. A layup by Verin gave UCR the lead for good at 49-48 with 1:01 left. A pair of late free throws by Holt made the final score 51-48.
 
As a team, Samford shot 42.9 percent overall and 31.6 percent from three-point range. UCR made 36.0 percent of its shots overall, and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. UCR won the rebounding battle, 32-28.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 6-7 on the season. UC Riverside improves to 6-5 with the win.
 
Samford will wrap up play in the tournament by taking on Hampton Friday at 3 p,m. (CT). The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1 or on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu/. Fans can also follow the game via live stats at the following link: LIVE STATS.