MACON, Ga.— The Samford women's basketball team saw its six-game win streak snapped in a 63-61 loss at Mercer Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
With the loss, Samford falls to 16-9 overall and 8-2 in Southern Conference play. Mercer takes sole possession of the conference lead at 19-6 overall and 9-1 in league play.
"You have to give credit to Mercer for making big plays," Samford head coach
Mike Morris said. "They made big play after big play, even after we took the lead, and that's why they're 9-1."
For Samford in the game,
Taylor Reece had 18 points and six rebounds.
Lydia McGee followed with 14 points and six assists, while
Krista Stricklin added 11 points and four assists.
"I liked our effort, our heart and our fight." Morris said. "We really did a good job of taking their blows and coming back. I thought we played, for the most part, pretty well. I loved the way we competed and battled. It was a good game of college basketball. They made plays and we made plays, we just came up a possession or two short."
Mercer was led by Kahlia Lawrence with 19 points and eight rebounds. Sydni Means and Linnea Rosendal added 13 points each for the Bears.
After Samford jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, Mercer went on a 9-2 run to take a 9-6 lead with 2:00 to go in the first quarter following a basket by Means. Samford answered with a three-pointer and layup by Stricklin on the last two possessions of the period, and the Bulldogs held an 11-9 advantage after one quarter.
Samford built a four-point lead in the second quarter at 13-9 and 19-15. Mercer came back with a 9-0 run to take a 24-19 lead with 3:23 left in the period after a three-pointer by KeKe Calloway.
Samford answered with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 27-24 lead with 1:19 to go in the period after a three-pointer by Reece. After Mercer cut the lead to one at 27-26, Reece hit another three-pointer with 40 seconds to go in the period, and Samford took a 30-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Mercer opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 37-32 lead with 5:27 to go in the period after a three-pointer by Rosendal. Samford fought back to cut the lead to just two points at 40-38 with 4:25 left in the quarter after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Mercer built the lead back to five at 47-42, but Samford scored the last six points of the quarter to take a 48-47 lead into the final period.
Mercer opened the fourth quarter with a 6-1 run to take a 53-49 lead with 5:49 left in the game after a layup by Rachel Selph. Samford then went on an 8-0 run to take a 57-53 lead with 4:13 left in the game after a three-pointer by Blevins.
Mercer, however, went on a 9-1 run to take a 62-58 lead with just seven seconds left following a pair of free throws by Means. Reece hit a three-pointer with three seconds left to cut the lead to one at 62-61. Means then hit one-of-two free throws to make the score 63-61 with two seconds left. Samford had one last desperation shot, but it fell short, and Mercer came away with the win.
As a team, Samford shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) overall and 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from three-point range. Mercer made 50 percent (24-of-48) of its shots overall and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when the Bulldogs play at Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. (CT) start from Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena.
