BOX SCORE (PDF)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In its final road game of the regular season, the Samford women's basketball team earned a tough, hard-fought Southern Conference win in a 55-48 victory at Wofford Saturday afternoon at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
"I thought we really worked together today," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Every possession, whether it was on offense or defense we had an approach to the game that we were doing this together."
 
Samford was led in the game by its veterans. Senior Brittany Stevens led the team with 12 points and four assists. Senior Ellen Riggins had 11 points and five rebounds. Junior Hannah Nichols scored 10 points, and senior Lydia McGee contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
 
For Wofford, Chloe Wanink led the way with 15 points and six rebounds. Kelsey Lambdin scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Grayson Pinholster added 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
After Wofford grabbed an early 5-3 lead, Samford answered with an 8-2 run to take an 11-7 lead with 2:36 left in the first quarter following a jumper by Samantha Fitzgerald. Samford held an 11-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
Samford built a four-point lead at 17-13 with 6:55 to go in the second quarter following a three-pointer by Fitzgerald. The teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the period, and Samford held a 23-20 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Samford built a game-high eight-point lead at 32-24 with 5:03 to go in the period, and at 36-28 at the 3:17 mark in the quarter. Wofford, however, closed the quarter with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to just four points at 38-34 entering the final period.
 
Both teams started the fourth quarter cold, as neither team scored until Wofford's Pinholster hit a jumper to cut the lead to 38-36 with 6:09 left in the game. The Terriers took a 42-40 lead with 3:31 left on a four-point play by Lambdin.
 
Nichols, however, answered with a three-pointer to give Samford a 43-42 lead with 3:17 to go. Nichols then hit another three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 46-42 lead at the 2:41 mark. Three-straight free throws by Stevens stretched Samford's lead to 49-42 with 34 seconds to play.
 
Wofford fought back to cut the lead to just three points at 51-48 with 19 seconds left on a three-pointer by Wanink. Free throws by McGee and Riggins down the stretch helped Samford pull away for the 55-48 victory.
 
As a team, Samford made 40 percent of its shots overall, including 38.9 percent from three-point range. Wofford made 35.8 percent overall and just 23.5 percent from beyond the arc. Samford won the rebounding battle, 32-31 over the Terriers.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 11-17 overall and 4-9 in Southern Conference play. Wofford falls to 12-15 overall and 2-10 in league games. The game marked the final women's game in Benjamin Johnson Arena, as the Terriers will be moving into a new facility next season.
 
Samford will wrap up its regular season by hosting league-leading Mercer next Saturday, Feb. 25, in the Pete Hanna Center. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.