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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The sixth-seeded Samford women's basketball team built a big lead and held on late for a 67-64 win over third-seeded East Tennessee State in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament Thursday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
"I was really pleased with our team's effort," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I thought we really defended well. We didn't give up a lot of offensive transition buckets, and we only had nine turnovers. I was really pleased with our approach coming into the tournament."
 
Samford built a 21-point lead in the third quarter, but ETSU fought back to get within one point three times late in the fourth quarter. Samford, however made some big shots and free throws down the stretch. With Samford leading, 67-64 in the closing seconds, Kassidy Blevins blocked Tianna Tarter's attempted three-pointer to preserve the Samford win.
 
"I thought for about 25 or 26 minutes, we played as well as we have all year, offensively and defensively," Morris said. "Give credit to our players for beating a good team. They are well coached and have good players, so I was really pleased with how our team competed and hung on and made two big plays at the end of the game to win."


 
Samford was led in the game by freshman Samantha Fitzgerald with 16 points, tying her career high. Blevins scored 14 points, while Hannah Nichols scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Brittany Stevens added seven points for the Bulldogs.
 
ETSU was led by Tarter with a career-high 39 points and 10 rebounds. Shamauria Bridges had 10 points for the Bucs, while Raven Dean had six points and 10 rebounds.
 
After ETSU jumped out to an early 4-3 lead, Samford went on a 9-0 run to take a 12-4 lead with 3:25 left in the first quarter following a three-pointer by Katie Allen. The Bulldogs held a 20-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Samford built its lead up to 19 points at 35-16 with 4:55 left in the period after a three-point play by Nichols. Samford took a 37-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs built their lead to 21 points at 39-18 and 40-19 early in the third quarter. ETSU then went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 15 points at 42-27 with 5:23 left in the period. With Samford leading, 52-36 late in the third quarter, Tarter hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 52-39 heading into the final period.
 
ETSU opened the fourth quarter with a 10-1 run to cut the lead to four at 53-49 with 7:51 left in the game after another three-pointer by Tarter. The Bucs cut the lead to one point at 60-59 with 3:27 left after yet another Tarter three-pointer.
 
A free throw by Blevins and a layup by Stevens pushed the Samford lead back out to four at 63-59 with 2:55 remaining. A three-pointer by Tarter cut the lead back to one at 63-62 with 2:39 left in the contest. Lydia McGee then hit two free throws to give Samford a 65-62 lead with 1:44 left in the game.
 
A layup by Sadasia Tipps cut the lead back to one at 65-64 with 38 seconds left. Blevins then hit a layup to make the score 67-64 with 18 seconds remaining in the game. ETSU had one more possession, but Blevins blocked Tarter's attempted three-pointer and Samford held on for the three-point win.
 
As a team, Samford shot 40.4 percent from the field, including a 27.8-percent effort from three-point range. ETSU made 38.2 percent overall and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc. ETSU won the rebounding battle, 36-33.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 12-18 on the season. The Bulldogs advance to Friday's semifinals where Samford will take on second-seeded Mercer at 12:15 p.m. (CT). ETSU ends its season with a mark of 16-14.