WBB Advances To SoCon Semis With 63-43 Win

Thursday, March 3

Asheville, N.C.

5:15 PM (CT)

Samford University

20-10

#6 Wofford (ESPN3)

9-20

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Wofford	9	10	18	6	43
Samford	7	24	13	19	63

Kassidy Blevins led Samford with 16 points in Thursday's win over Wofford.

3.3.16 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

VIDEO RECAP

ASHEVILLE, N.C.— The third-seeded Samford women's basketball team earned a 63-43 win over the sixth-seeded Wofford Terriers in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament Thursday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

With the win, Samford advances to the tournament semifinals where the Bulldogs will take on second-seeded Chattanooga Friday at 12:15 p.m. (CT). Samford improves to 20-10 with the win, marking the program's first 20-win season since 2012. Wofford ends its season with a record of 9-20.

"We're definitely excited to be playing tomorrow," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Give Wofford a lot of credit because they played us well and they are tough to play against. I was really pleased with how our team, after not starting the game well, really flipped the game and took control of it."

Samford was led in the game by Kassidy Blevins with 16 points. Blevins made 4-of-7 attempts from three-point range in the game. Taylor Reece scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Amara Mayers and Lydia McGee added eight points each for the Bulldogs.

For Wofford, Kentra Washington led the way with 15 points. Jordan Frazier added seven points in the loss for the Terriers.

After Samford grabbed an early 4-0 lead, Wofford went on an 8-0 run to take an 8-4 lead with 1:31 left in the first quarter following a free throw by Frazier. Samford fought back to cut the lead to 8-7 with 1:17 left in the period after a three-pointer by Krista Stricklin. Wofford held a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, with Wofford leading, 10-9, Blevins hit back-to-back three-pointers, and McGee hit a layup to put Samford up 17-10 with 5:49 left in the period. After Wofford cut the lead to 17-12, Keke Fletcher hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 23-12 with 4:30 left in the second quarter.

Blevins then hit her third three-pointer of the quarter to push the lead to 26-12 with 3:44 left in the second quarter. After Wofford cut the lead to 26-14, Blevins hit yet another three-pointer to make the score 29-14 with 1:59 left before halftime. Samford took a 31-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Samford pushed its lead out to 17 points at 38-21 following a three-pointer by Brittany Stevens with 7:38 left in the third quarter. Wofford then went on a 13-3 run to cut the Samford lead to 41-34 with 1:45 left in the period after a layup by Ashton Fleming. Samford led, 44-37, after three quarters.

Samford pushed its lead back out to 13 points at 50-37 with 8:52 left in the game after a layup by Destiney Elliott. With Samford holding a 52-41 lead, the Bulldogs finished the game with an 11-2 run to pull away for the 63-43 win.

As a team, Samford made 44.4 percent of its shots overall, including a 38.5-percent effort from three-point range. Wofford shot just 29.5 percent overall and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc. Samford won the rebounding battle, 33-29.

Friday's semifinal game against Chattanooga is scheduled for a 12:15 p.m. (CT) start. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The game can also be viewed online on ESPN3.