BOX SCORE (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Samford women's basketball team overcame a double-digit second half deficit to earn a thrilling 82-76 overtime win over in-state rival Troy on the final day of the Tulane Classic Friday at Fogelman Arena.
This marks the second time in less than a week that Samford has come back from a large deficit to defeat Troy. Last Sunday, the Bulldogs came back from 21 points down to defeat the Trojans, 80-73 in the Pete Hanna Center.
"I'm very proud of our team today," Samford head coach
Mike Morris said. "We've played four games in the last six games and we were stronger at the end today. Our ladies showed a lot of grit in pulling out this game today."
In Friday's win, Samford was led by
Hannah Nichols with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Olivia Crozier had 14 points, while Cassidy Williams scored 13 points. Charity Brown scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists. Samantha Fitzgerald added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Troy was led by Amber Rivers with 18 points. Jasmine Sanders added 11 points for the Trojans.
Samford trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter at 40-24 and 42-26. With the Bulldogs down, 49-35, Samford closed the period with a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 51-49, heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Troy pushed its lead out to seven points at 56-49 and 59-52. Samford then scored six-straight points to cut the lead to one point at 59-58 with 4:27 to go following a three-pointer by Brown. Troy fought back to take a six-point lead at 68-62 with 1:40 to go in regulation. Samford came back to cut the lead to 68-67 with 49 seconds to go after a pair of free throws by Fitzgerald.
Troy's Kayla Robinson then made two free throws to make the score 70-67 with 32 seconds left. With 11 seconds to go, Crozier made a layup and was fouled. She then sank her free throw to complete the three-point play and knot the score at 70-70. Neither team could score again in regulation, and the game headed to overtime.
Samford jumped out to a three-point lead at 74-71 with 3:19 to go in overtime after two free throws by Nichols. Troy came back to take a 76-74 lead with 1:26 to play. A layup by Nichols tied the game at 76-76 with 1:11 left. Nichols gave Samford the lead for good with a three-point play with 26 seconds to go, giving the Bulldogs a 79-76 advantage. Williams added a late free throw and Nichols hit two more from the charity stripe to make the final score 82-76.
As a team, Samford shot 46.4 percent from the floor, including a 58.3-percent effort in the fourth quarter. Troy made 35.0 percent of its shots. Samford dished out 20 assists as a team, while Troy finished with 18. Troy won the rebounding battle, 50-34.
With the win, Samford improves to 7-6 on the season. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five games. Troy drops to 5-6 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Dec. 30, when the Bulldogs host Hampton at 2 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. Admission to all Samford women's basketball home games is FREE!
