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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team fell to 0-2 in Southern Conference play with a 69-57 loss to East Tennessee State Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford held an 18-9 lead after the first quarter, and a 33-32 advantage at halftime. ETSU, however, outscored Samford 37-24 after halftime to come away with the 69-57 win.
 
Samford was led in the game by Hannah Nichols with 18 points. Lydia McGee scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Brittany Stevens and Kassidy Blevins dished out four assists each for the Bulldogs.
 
For ETSU, Shamauria Bridges led the way with 23 points. Raven Dean had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Malloree Schurr added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bucs.
 
Samford started the game off hot, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage with 8:08 left in the first quarter after a jumper by Ellen Riggins. After ETSU came back to cut the lead to one at 7-6, Samford went on a 9-0 run to take a 16-6 lead with 2:13 left in the period following a three-point play by Katie Allen. Samford led, 18-9 at the end of the first quarter.
 
ETSU cut the Samford lead to four points at 20-16 with 6:44 left in the second quarter after a layup by Morgan Martin. Samford pushed its lead back out to seven points at 25-18 with 5:52 left in the period after a three-point play by Nichols. ETSU tied the game at 25-25 with 3:55 left in the second after a layup by Dean. Samford pushed its lead back out to four at 33-29 with 1:02 left, but a late three-pointer by Bridges cut the lead to 33-32 heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
ETSU started the third quarter with a 13-4 run to take a 45-37 lead with 5:30 left in the period after a jumper by Martin. The Bucs led by as many as 11 points at 50-39 with 1:36 left after two free throws by Schurr. ETSU led, 52-43 going into the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, ETSU maintained its lead throughout. Samford could get no closer than eight points in the final period as the Bulldogs fell by a score of 69-57.
 
As a team, Samford made 35.1 percent of its shots overall and just 13.6 percent from three-point range. ETSU shot 45.7 percent overall and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 6-10 overall and 0-2 in Southern Conference play. ETSU improves to 9-8 overall and 1-1 in league play.
 
Samford will return to action on Jan. 12, when the Bulldogs play at Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Cullowhee, N.C.