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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team jumped out to a big half-time lead, but could not hold it as the Bulldogs dropped a 71-60 decision to Colorado in the season opener for both teams Friday night in the Pete Hanna Center.


 
"I thought we really started the game right and really controlled most of the game," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I was pleased with the way we approached it. We handled the ball and did a lot of good stuff, but we really just kind of fell apart in the fourth quarter. Give a lot of credit to them, they picked up their pressure, they made threes, they got offensive rebounds. We wore down a little bit, and that's obviously a concern of mine and we'll have to get better."
 
For Samford in the loss, Olivia Crozier had a career-high 18 points and six rebounds. Hannah Nichols scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Makaila Woolard added 11 points for the Bulldogs. Charity Brown dished out a career-high 12 assists, just one shy of the school record of 13 set by Clarissa Tomlinson against Troy in 2000.
 
"I saw some bright spots," Morris said. "I thought Charity really did a good job with 12 assists, and Olivia Crozier had a great game for us, and Hannah was solid. So, we had a lot of positives, we just have to complete the game a little better, and we wore down a little bit."
 
Colorado was led by Quinessa Caylao-Do with 18 points. Annika Jank had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Alexis Robinson scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. Aubrey Knight pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Buffalos.
 
In the first quarter, Samford raced out to an 11-3 lead with 5:42 to go in the quarter after a three-pointer by Woolard. The Bulldogs expanded their lead out to 11 points at 17-6 with 2:06 left in the period after two free throws by Crozier. Samford held a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Samford pushed its lead to 13 points at 21-8 with 8:12 left in the second quarter after a jumper by Nichols. With Samford leading, 23-14, the Bulldogs closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 31-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.


 
The teams traded baskets early in the third quarter until, with Samford leading, 37-21, Colorado went on a 12-3 run to cut the Samford lead to seven points at 40-33 with 2:10 to go in the period. Samford scored seven of the next 10 points to push its lead back out to 11 points at 47-36 with 36 seconds left in the quarter after a jumper by Woolard. Samford led, 47-37 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Colorado opened the fourth quarter with an 18-6 run to take its first lead of the game at 55-53 with 4:52 to go on a three-pointer by Caylao-Do. Samford retook the lead at 56-55 on a jumper by Samantha Fitzgerald with 4:08 remaining. The game remained a one-possession game until, with Colorado leading, 61-60 with 2:13 left, the Buffalos closed the game with a 10-0 run to pull away for the 71-60 victory.
 
With the loss, Samford is now 0-1, while Colorado is 1-0. Samford will play at Arkansas Sunday at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live online on the SEC Network +.  
 
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