BOX SCORE (PDF)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Samford junior Hannah Nichols scored a career-high 29 points, but it was not enough as the Bulldog women's basketball team dropped a 63-57 decision to Hampton on the final day of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic Friday afternoon at Alico Arena.
 
"Hampton is a good team that played well today," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We are doing a lot of things well, we're just not doing them for a long enough period of time. We as a coaching staff have to go back and make what we're doing is giving us the best chance to win and see what we can do to adjust."
 
Nichols made 11-of-16 shots overall and 7-of-9 from three-point range for her career-high total. In addition to her 29 points, Nichols also had four rebounds in the loss.
 
"Hannah is a heck of a player, and when she gets locked in shooting, she is really good," Morris said. "She got hot today, and we were getting her the ball and she got some good looks."
 
Brittany Stevens scored nine points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists for Samford. Samantha Fitzgerald added eight points for the Bulldogs.
 
For Hampton, Malia Tate-Defreitas led the way with 29 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Monnaz Finney-Smith scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Pirates.
 
Hampton jumped out to an early 6-1 lead with 8:09 to go in the first quarter. Samford, however, answered with a 14-2 run to take a 15-8 lead with 3:24 left in the period after a three-pointer by Nichols. Hampton scored the final four points of the quarter and Samford led, 15-12 after one quarter.
 
Samford pushed its lead out to six points at 20-14 with 7:43 left in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Katie Allen. Hampton fought back to cut the Samford lead to two points at 20-18 with 5:00 left in the period. Samford took a 25-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Hampton scored the first five points of the third quarter to take a 28-25 lead with 6:50 left in the period. Samford fought back to take a three-point lead at 33-30 with 5:06 left after a three-pointer by Fitzgerald. Hampton closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 40-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Samford scored eight of the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to take a 43-42 lead with 7:33 left after a layup by Stevens. With the scored tied at 47-47, a three-pointer by Finney-Smith gave Hampton the lead for good at 50-47 with 4:33 to go. Hampton built its lead to as many as nine points at 63-54 with nine seconds left, but a late three-pointer by Stevens made the final score 63-57.
 
As a team, Samford shot 44.9 percent overall and 50.0 percent from three-point range. Hampton made 43.4 percent of its shots overall and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Hampton made 11-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line, while Samford made just 1-of-3 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 6-8 on the season. The Bulldogs went 0-2 in the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. Hampton improves to 6-7 with the win.
 
Samford will return to action when the Bulldogs open Southern Conference play by hosting Chattanooga on Jan. 4. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center. To purchase tickets for the Chattanooga game, click here: CHATTANOOGA GAME TICKETS.