BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford women's basketball team closed the game with an 8-0 run over the last 3:40 of the contest to earn its sixth-straight win, 57-52 over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
With the win, Samford improves to 16-8 overall and 8-1 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs remain in a first-place tie with Mercer in the league standings. Western Carolina drops to 6-17 overall and 2-7 in SoCon play.
"I was pleased with how our team executed down the stretch to win the game," Samford head coach
Mike Morris said. "I thought Western Carolina played very well. We were not as sharp as we have been, but Western Carolina had a lot to do with that. Things were not going well, but we came back to win the game and that speaks volumes about our team."
Samford was led in the game by
Destiney Elliott with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Amara Mayers scored 15 points, while
Lydia McGee and
Brittany Stevens added seven points each.
For Western Carolina, Julia Brown had 12 points and seven rebounds. Ace Easter also scored 12 points, while Lindsay Simpson added 10 points for the Catamounts. Sherae Bonner led all rebounders with 11 in the game.
The teams traded baskets early in the first quarter. Samford built a 7-4 lead with 3:51 left in the period following a pair of free throws by Mayers. Western Carolina scored eight of the next 11 points to take a 12-10 lead with 1:32 left in the quarter after a three-pointer by Brown. WCU held a 14-13 lead after the first period.
Samford opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 20-16 lead with 8:15 left in the period after two free throws by Stevens. After WCU tied the score at 20-20, Samford scored the next six points to take a 26-20 lead with 5:11 left in the period after a jumper by Mayers.
Western Carolina scored the next five points to cut the lead to 26-25 with 3:53 left in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Easter. Samford built its lead back to five points at 30-25, and the Bulldogs held a 31-27 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
In the third quarter, Samford pushed its lead to seven points at 36-29 with 8:28 left in the period following a jumper by Stevens. Samford maintained at least a five-point lead for the remainder of the third quarter and the Bulldogs led, 44-39 after three complete periods.
Western Carolina started the fourth quarter with a 12-3 run to take a 51-47 lead with 7:18 left in the game after a three-pointer by Simpson. After Samford cut the lead to two points at 51-49, a WCU free throw by Raziyah Farrington gave the Catamounts a 52-49 lead with 3:40 left in the game.
Samford's
Taylor Reece hit a pair of free throws with 2:20 to go to cut the lead to one point at 52-51. Mayers tied the game at 52-52 with a free throw with 1:29 to go. Mayers then hit another free throw with 1:03 left in the game to give Samford the lead for good at 53-52.
A layup by Reece pushed Samford's lead to 55-52 with 29 seconds to go. Elliott sealed the win with two free throws with 12 seconds left to make the final score 57-52.
As a team, Samford shot 35.9 percent, while Western Carolina made 41.2 percent of its attempts. Western Carolina won the rebounding battle, 34-28.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 13, when the Bulldogs play at Mercer in a battle of first-place teams. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Macon, Ga.
